PESHAWAR: Office bearers of Mineral Association Khyber Pakhtunkhwa rejected increase of tax on minerals sector and demanded the government review and withdraw it immediately.
Talking to media here, the association president Dr. Afsar along with general secretary Syed Abdul Rauf Khan and others here on Sunday said that the government has passed some laws under which an increase of tax had been made on minerals sector, which couldn’t be acceptable and should be withdrawn forthwith.
Afsar urged the government to form a committee with representation of officials, representatives of mining and stakeholders and hold a thorough review on these taxes under a section. He said those people paying taxes are right to ask where this tax-money is being spent.
Office bearers of the association said already 20 per cent royalty fund but it wasn’t given to the business community attached with minerals sector till date. 70 percent marble factories and 90 percent minerals businesses were closed in the province, they informed. They said adding to miseries of stakeholders was tantamount to putting the national economy and minerals sector in danger. They said everyone is thinking that the mineral department is a golden sparrow. 95 percent of the business community attached with this important sector remained unsuccessful, which caused damage to the department concerned, the office bearers said.
Despite issuance of allotment letters, they said stakeholders were making requests to land owners for two to three years. They added a committee was formed for the minerals sector, consisting of non-technical people, who have no knowledge about the sector. They said laborers working on mineral deposits were relying on stakeholders when they won’t earn income so how can they pay taxes? They recalled that the former PTI-led provincial government imposed such a tax and they made a struggle for its abolishment but the government didn’t backtrack an inch so the stakeholders strongly protested against it.
They warned to take to the streets if the recent increase in tax on the minerals sector wasn’t withdrawn. In the other provinces, the governments are supporting the business community but in KP, the situation is completely opposite, the office bearers said.
They revealed the government received WB funds worth Rs3.8billion for improvement of the minerals sector in 2013, but this fund was utilized for other official purposes, not for development of the minerals sector. They urged the government to withdraw the hike in tax and resolve issues in consultation with stakeholders; otherwise, they will be forced to protest against it.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2024
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