LAHORE: Federation of All Pakistan Universities Academic Staff Association (FAPUASA) on Friday expressed strong reservations on behalf of university teachers and the academic community against the withdrawal of tax exemption for university teachers and researchers.

In a letter written to the Prime Minister of Pakistan Mian Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif by the FAPUASA leadership, it is requested that the Pakistani academia will face further financial difficulties after the withdrawal of tax exemptions given by the government to teachers and researchers, which will directly affect their professional skills and the universities will be handicapped to play their effective role in the development of the country.

Dr. Amjad Magsi, the central president of FAPUASA Pakistan, said that university teachers and researchers work as vanguards for the intellectual and scientific development of the country but they are already suffering from low wages and after this segment teaching fraternity will suffer even more financially after the withdrawal of tax exemption, which will have a direct impact on the national developments.

In their letter, the FAPUASA representatives also drew the Prime Minister’s attention to the letter written by the Chairman of the Higher Education Commission (HEC) to the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) dated 14.05.2024 in which the request was made to restore the 75 percent tax exemption for researchers and university teachers. The HEC chairman in the said letter acknowledged the role of university teachers and researchers in national development and sought to highlight the negative impact of new tax burden on their academic skills.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2024