BHURBAN: All Pakistan Chambers Presidents’ Conference (APCPC), Tuesday, demanded of the government to rationalization of both the sales and income tax rates. APCPC also demanded of the government to reduce the tax rates to single digit on the pattern of other regional countries.
The government must reduce the sales tax rate from 17% to single digit instead of relying on the indirect taxation. Furthermore, more focus of the government must be on broadening of tax net rather than harassing the existing taxpayers” said President Rawalpindi Chamber of Commerce and Industry CCI Raja Amer Iqbal while reading out the declaration issued on the conclusion of the two day 9th APCPC here at a press conference.
He said that APCPC discussed wide range of issues pertaining to the problems and difficulties confronted by the business community in the country. In this regard, a number of parliamentarians belonging to almost all the political parties also took an active part in the discussion.
He added that tax rate should be rationalized and tax base should be widening rather the government focus on tax to the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) to tax ratio. Businessmen are more concerned over the abuse of article 42-B of the Income Tax Ordinance 2001, which grants power to the Member FBR to conduct raids at any business center or business house.
But unfortunately, he said that these powers had been delegated to Regional Tax Officers (RTOs) which was playing havoc with the business environment and putting the higher stakes of the businessmen at the stake. Now due to the abuse of powers, the businessmen are harassed” he added demanding of the FBR to delegate the said powers back to Member FBR instead of RTOs.
He said that in result of policies followed by the tax authorities, number of taxpayers was decreasing day by day and it was just because of the fact that the government focused on increasing the tax to GDP ratio rather than bringing more and new taxpayers in the tax net.
“The higher rate of sales tax, which is almost 17% but aggregated impact is almost 22%, is increasing the cost of doing business for the local businessman as well as making the lives of end consumers miserable because they are forced to purchase daily commodities at the inflated rates” he pinpointed.
