ISLAMABAD: Board of Investment (BoI) said the government is committed to facilitate the foreign investors and provide them conducive environment according to the international standards.
“We are focusing on tax reforms and would take further steps to ease payment of taxes mechanism for the local and foreign investors,” spokesman of the BoI Shah Jahan Shah said.
Business environment could be improved further by giving consideration to 70 withholding provision of taxes, including clause (72-B), part IV second schedule of the Income Tax Ordinance, he said.
He said an effective system of taxation helped in formalizing the economy, encourages economic growth, shapes political cohesion between tiers of the government and results in increase in social sector service delivery.
He stressed that there was dire need to reform the taxation regime particularly reducing the administrative burden on tax payers through merging and addressing the multiplicity of taxes, tax payments and tax collecting agencies.
Shah Jahan Shah said in Pakistan, tax payment was taking more time and also administrative burden as compared to high income Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) countries.
He said the business community had demanded inexpensive supply of energy – electricity and gas for generating more business activity and growth in the country. He said foreign investors were keen to invest in various sectors of economy in the country. Shah Jahan said a total of seven Special Economic Zone (SEZs) cells had been approved for facilitating the investors through one window operation to provide them facility at one place. “SEZs investors would get the facility for plant and machinery import without customs duty in all four provinces of the country,” he added.
