PESHAWAR: Traders here on Monday rejected imposition of fixed tax on traders and warned to protest, if the government didn’t withdraw unnecessary and unjust taxes forthwith.
According to details, a delegation of traders from Saddar Bazar Peshawar led by Tajir Ittehad Khyber Pakhtunkhwa President Mujeebur Rehman held a meeting on Monday with President of Sarhad Chamber of Commerce and Industry Fuad Ishaq here at the chamber house.
Other members of the traders’ delegation include Aftab Ahmad Khan, Naveed Ibrar, Malik Saeed, Nisar Khalil, Naseeruddin Hashmi, Javed Khan, Sumeer Manzoor, Muhammadullah, Nauman Durrani, and Fazal Mehmood. The meeting was also attended by SCCI Vice President Ejaz Khan Afridi, Secretary Sohail Anjum.
Mujeebur Rehman apprised the meeting about apprehensions of traders on imposition of SRO: 1064 (I)/2024 dated 22 July 2024 by Federal Board of Revenue, through which a fixed tax from Rs30,000 to Rs45,000 per shop is imposed.
Tajir Ittehad urged SCCI to take up this issue with the government and FBR in an effective manner. On which, the chamber President Fuad Ishaq gave full assurance to make all efforts for withdrawal of this unjust tax.
He said the tax system has completely failed in Pakistan. He added owing to flawed policies of the government and FBR, the economy has remained documented 20 percent and undocumented 80 percent, which is highly detrimental for the economy.
Emphasizing the need of simplifying the tax-system, the SCCI chief suggested the current Australian tax law that had been imposed in Pakistan, should be replaced by the pattern of the UAE to make it easier in the country.
Fuad Ishaq recalled SCCI had already rejected taxation measures in the fiscal budget 2024-25. He said Tajir Dost Scheme for which the chamber had suggested to implement this scheme after giving 20 years sovereign guarantee through parliament. But, he added, the scheme had become part of the budget document, it had proved as anti-trader, not Tajir Dost and we rejected it.
Fuad Ishaq said SCCI is fighting for protection of business community interests and constitutional rights of KP province by remaining in ambit of constitution and law.
He informed the chamber will soon arrange a seminar on Pakistan’s outdated taxation system. Commenting on the Pak-Afghan bilateral trade, the chamber President said owing to the wrong policies of the government, the mutual trade volume between the two neighbouring countries had dropped at $500 million to $800 million from $3 billion.
The SCCI chief gave a proposal for bringing tariffs of 212 items to duties of Afghanistan and allows imports of these items to traders and then re-exports so that smuggling would be eliminated.
He informed Pakistan is earning foreign exchange worth $75 billion through human resources in which $35 billion were coming through banking channels and $40 billion other means or resources. He also suggested all chambers, FPCCI, ICAP and Economic Wing of Pakistan Army should jointly make the fiscal budget.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2024
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