LAHORE: Senior vice president of the Lahore Chamber of Commerce and Industry Mian Nauman Kabir demanded of the government to bring down the number of taxes in Punjab as around 119 direct and indirect taxes are hampering the economic activities in the province.
In a statement issued here, the LCCI senior vice president Mian Nauman Kabir said that in the recent past Punjab experienced discrimination in electricity and gas supply. Unfortunately, situation is same as far as number of taxes is concerned.
While elaborating the point, Mian Nauman Kabir said that there are 119 direct and indirect taxes in Punjab as compared to Sindh, KPK and Balochistan where these are 82, 54 and 12 respectively.
He said that the policies should be aimed at widening the tax net rather than taxing the already taxed. There is a strong need for long term planning and consistency in Government Policies. Tax returns and other documents are modified each year which creates confusion.
The LCCI senior vice president said that government would have to introduce new reforms in tax system in consultation with the stakeholders to bring untaxed sectors into the tax net.
He said that most of the challenges being faced by the economy are directly linked to complicated and lengthy taxation procedures.
He said that the EU states do not implement policies without due consultation of the stakeholders while situation in Pakistan is quite different.
He said that the Lahore Chamber of Commerce and Industry believes that for the promotion of tax culture in Pakistan, the government would have to bring down the rate of the taxes besides bringing the untaxed sectors into the tax net.
Mian Nauman Kabir said that flaws in taxation system causing loss of billions of rupees to the national exchequer. He said that a large number of taxes and difficult taxation system is also creating troubles for the taxpayers. He said that tax reforms like developed countries could enhance the government revenue.
