ISLAMABAD: The South Punjab Chamber of Commerce and Industry members have urged the government to sail the country out of the ongoing economic challenges to reduce government expenditures by Rs1,000 billion annually and reduce imports by $10 billion instead of putting an additional tax burden on the already burdened people.

This was stated by the former Chairman of Multan and Dera Ghazi Khan Chamber of Commerce and Industry Khawaja Jalaluddin Rumi, here on Tuesday. He said that the way the government has announced the imposition of 10 percent “supertax” on major industries will severely affect the textile industry. He said that steps should be taken to reduce imports of Rs10 billion annually, which would save the country’s precious foreign exchange.

Rumi said that the present government has been presenting a daily budget since it came to power. As a result, it is becoming too difficult to meet orders in the export sector. The government should immediately take into confidence the representatives of industrialists, farmers, and other financial institutions to formulate viable policies aiming at improving the economic situation.

Rumi said that at present, the textile industry is paying 29 percent tax and under such a situation, the implementation of “supertax” will further increase inflation for every section of the economy. He said that the imposition of the “supertax” was not welcomed by the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSE) as it lost over 2,000 points on the day the government announced it. He said that Pakistan’s textile industry has just started improving and the imposition of more taxes on the industry will reverse all the achievements and it will not be in a position to compete with other regional competitors.

He said that in a developing country such as Pakistan the government should minimize the tax rates for the industry and businessmen. Moreover, power and electricity supply should be ensured at lower rates, so that the economy keeps on moving fast.

He said that industrialists and the government needs to work together to rid Pakistan of the economic crisis. He further said that an estimated 4.5 million potentially taxable people at present are out of the tax net, therefore, the government should focus to bring them into the tax net.

Rumi added that inflation and poverty are on the rise all over the world. At present, the whole world is in recession. He said that at present, the top concern of the people across the globe is to ensure food supply for themselves. He said that owing to the coronavirus and recent global developments followed by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine not only a food crisis is on the horizon but unemployment and poverty are also on the rise.

Rumi said that the tax collection system in Pakistan has always been complex and controversial. At the same time, the priorities of each government are different as a result there is no transparency in the tax system.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2022