PESHAWAR: Business community have rejected additional taxation measures in budget 2024-25 and stated that it has not made it difficult to keep operational industry, business and trade but impossible after slapping further taxes.
Business community stressed that the system of Australian tax law should be replaced by the tax model of the United Arab Emirates (UAEs), they stressed.
Terming the Independent Power Producers (IPPs) as detrimental for the country’s economy, business and industry, the traders demanded all IPPs contract cancellation.
These remarks were made by traders leaders during their speeches at a ‘Tajir’ Convention on the theme of “Anti-people Budget and difficulties of traders community” organized jointly by Jamaat-e-Islami Pakistan and Pakistan Business Forum in Peshawar.
Hafiz Naeem-ur-Rehman, emir of Jamaat-e-Islami was chief guest at the event. Besides, Central president of the Pakistan Business Forum Muhammad Kashif Chaudhry, JI provincial amir Prof Muhammad Ibrahim, members of the SCCI Nadeem Rauf, Saddar Gul, Fazl-e-Wahid, Secretary Sohail Anjum, a large number of trader’s leaders and representative of business community attended the convention.
Fuad Ishaq, president of the Sarhad Chamber of Commerce and Industry said the government had paid Rs2200billion on head of capacity charges to IPPs in last year. In the fiscal year 2024-25, he said Rs2800billion would be paid to IPPs on head of capacity charges.
He added that contracts with 12 new IPPs were made, which need to be halted. He said SCCI has played a front foot role against IPPs contracts. The government had made payment of Rs60billon to those plants which didn’t remain operational even a single day, Ishaq revealed.
Fuad Ishaq condemned the imposition of withholding tax at a ratio of 2.5 percent on traders’. He asked the government to provide facilities and incentives to traders instead of snatching morsel from their mouths.
Despite surplus in electricity and gas production, the SCCI chief said equal rates are being charged from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa with major provinces, which is completely unjust with terrorism-affected business community and people of the province.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2024