The Chairman of All Pakistan Textile Processing Mills Association (APTPMA), Muhammad Amjad, and Life Chairman of APTPMA action committee, G R Arshad have felicitated Finance Minister Shaukat Aziz for presenting a balanced, progressive and tax-free budget despite adverse circumstances and limited resources.
In a joint press statement, they reiterated that it is indeed heartening for the business and industrial communities to note that no new tax has been imposed in the Federal Budget 2004-05 and substantial relief has been given in a number of taxes, instead, which would promote industrial investment and export trade, while export-oriented industries, especially the textile processing industry, would be able to get a firm foothold in he international export market.
Nevertheless, there are quite a few aspects of the budgetary exercise wherein there is still some room for improvement. Some of the positive points of the budget speech which the statement highlighted are:
(1) Abolition of sales tax and withholding tax on import of machinery/plant and abolition of the condition of providing Indemnity Bond and Installation Certificate.
(2) (2) Abolition of Further Tax and Turnover Tax and prescribing one single uniform rate of sales tax, increasing the threshold from Rs 500,000 to Rs 5,000,000 for registration under Sales Tax Act 1990. The rate of sales tax, however, should have been reduced from 15 percent to 10 percent to attract more taxpayers to come under GST net.
(3) (3) Permission for adjustment as input tax of sales tax on purchase of diesel oil for electricity generation by industrial units, which our Association has been demanding for the last three years.
(4) (4) Reduction in duty on industrial raw-material, vehicles and spare-parts etc.
(5) (5) Liberalisation of depreciation allowance allowing adjustment of minimum tax during the next five years, abolition of taxing declared excess profit over imputed income and abolition of capital gains up to 30.06.2007.
(6) (6) Enhancement of minimum taxable limit from Rs 80,000 to 100,000 and increase in threshold for filing of wealth statement from Rs 200,000 to Rs 500,000 (7) (7) Reduction of electricity tariff for industrial consumers by 58 paisas per unit which would curtail the cost of industrial production, bring down the prices of consumer goods and augment exports.
They suggested that the Ministry of Petroleum be advised to refrain from enhancing gas price for export-oriented industrial units.
(8) Establishment of a 'Taxpayer Unit' in Faisalabad is a right step in the right direction. They suggested that installation of 'Textile City' in Faisalabad be expedited.
Thy felicitated Shaukat Aziz , PM Zafarullah Khan Jamali and President Musharraf for the formulation of a taxpayer-friendly, investment-oriented and export-oriented federal budget.