The Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) Chairman Mumtaz Haider Rizvi, Member Inland Revenue Shahid Hussain Asad and other senior officials of the board met the Managing Committee and members of the Overseas Investors Chamber of Commerce and Industry (OICCI) to discuss taxation proposals for the budget 2012-2013.
President OICCI Humayun Bashir highlighted the significant contribution of the OICCI members to the country's economic growth. He said the foreign investors operating in Pakistan, perceive the government policies favourably but 79 percent were critical of policy implementation.
The FBR Chairman expressed surprise at the relatively low level of proposed investment of US $3 billion in the 4-5 years by the OICCI members. The President OICCI agreed that considering the country's potential it should be five times more, but socio-political environment and governance issues were a big challenge.
Explaining the key elements of the taxation proposals, Bashir mentioned that "OICCI members realise their moral duty towards the country and fully pay their tax which amounted to over Rs 300 billion". "OICCI's budget proposals are balanced and aim at broadening the tax base, providing incentive to the honest tax payers and above all enhancing the documentation of the economy. The proposals also recommend certain structural and procedural changes to improve the overall taxation framework in the country," he added.
The FBR chairman candidly responded to all recommendations and acknowledged the positive role played by the foreign investors in the country and encouraged the OICCI members to enhance their activities and investment for the development of the country. He assured the members that FBR would closely look into all the proposals and, after analysing all aspects, decide on appropriate action on the recommendations.-PR