President, Korangi Association of Trade & Industry (KATI), Zahid Saeed, has urged that government to exempt the machinery and raw materials for industrial purpose, which are not available locally, from taxes and duties. He recommends the government to also exempt the existing industry form taxes and duties on the required equipments for introducing new technologies.
He was of the opinion that promoting the process of industrialisation is a must to curb unemployment in the country. Zahid said that it was reported that the government as promised will exempt new industries from income tax for a certain period. "This is a good sign, and we hope that problems of existing industries would be addressed accordingly," he added.
President of KATI also called for expansion of tax collection, adding that it is not wise to burden the existing taxpayers. Better strategy is to promote financial activities and facilitate industry, it would not just create employment opportunities but would be effective to increase tax to GDP ratio, he opined.