This is apropos a Business Recorder op-ed “Zero-rating of sales tax on export-oriented sectors: It cannot be revived” carried by the newspaper yesterday. The writer, former chairman of Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) Syed Shabbar Zaidi, has argued, among other things, that restoring zero-rating for export-oriented sectors will be regressive. Although his is a cogent and convincing argument, he can be accused of showing his “anti-business” and “anti-export” bias against the industrial sectors involved in production of export-oriented goods. Interestingly, his argument has coincided by an identical approach taken by the ministry of finance in response to a zero-rating proposal from the exporters, mainly those belonging to the textile sector. Be that as it may, it is quite interesting to note that a former FBR chairman and the ministry of finance are on the same page insofar as the zero-rating issue is concerned. The question is whether Shabbar Zaidi is still associated with the government in some informal capacity.
YASIR ABBAS (KARACHI)
Copyright Business Recorder, 2021
Comments
Comments are closed.