RAWALPINDI: It is believed that economies with strong Small and Medium-sized businesses (SMEs) are progressive in nature and experience robust economic growth. There is a need to attach significant value to the development of the SMEs which will ultimately result in integrating the issue of small business development. This was stated by Malik Shahid Saleem, President Rawalpindi Chamber of Commerce and Industry (RCCI) here on Tuesday.
While talking to the delegation of traders at Chamber house Malik Shahid Saleem urged government to launch a series of preferential taxation policies.
The income tax policies for small enterprises in Pakistan should be reduced so that more people can start their own ventures, he suggested.
The new enterprises that engage with transportation, posts and telecommunications, consultation, information industry and technological industry should be exempted from one year of taxation, he added.
President RCCI said that as per Small and Medium Enterprises Development Authority (SMEDA) SMEs constitute nearly 90% of all the enterprises in Pakistan; employ 80% of the non-agricultural labor force; and their share in the annual GDP is 40%, approximately.
Malik Shahid Saleem also mentioned that RCCI in its annual 11th Chambers Presidents’ Conference urged government to revisit banking system for financing SMEs and the process must be made easy to help out the SME’s in the country. The enlistment of SME’s in stock exchange should be promoted as the model of neighboring countries, he further added.
