FAISALABAD: President, Faisalabad Chamber of Commerce & Industry (FCCI) Shabbir Hussain Chawla welcoming Prime Minister’s plan to broaden tax base in Pakistan, said that wealthy and potential non-tax payers must be brought into the tax net.
In a statement issued here Saturday, he said that number of tax payers in Pakistan was even less than of Afghanistan which was a point to ponder and hence, broadening the tax net was must to strengthen national economy which was also directly linked with the economic survival of Pakistan. He further said that plugging all loopholes in revenue leakage and broadening of tax net would ultimately benefit the national economy in addition to offloading the existing tax payers who were the main victims of heavy taxation. He said that all chambers should convince the trading community to pay their due taxes as these would contribute their roles in providing much needed revenue for the new and necessary development projects.
“Around 1.2 million people pay taxes in Pakistan while the number of traders paying tax on electricity bills surpasses seven million”, he said and added that the gap could be bridged through sincere efforts backed by the government. He demanded the government to announce amnesty package across the country with mandatory pre-condition that money declared legal through the scheme would be invested only in the industrial sector.
