ISLAMABAD: Ahsan Zafar Bakhtawari, President Islamabad Chamber of Commerce and Industry has that the budget 2024-25 will not at all be supportive for ease of doing business in the country stressing a simplified tax system by arguing that excessive tax rates will definitely disprove the potential benefits.
In a statement, he said that the government still has the time to initiate serious consultations with all the stakeholders before the finalization of the budget document if it really wants to pull the country out of the existing economic mess and to enable the poor masses to heave a sigh of relief.
He warned that imposition of federal excise duty on cement and immovable property will hinder business operations and questioned how the construction sector would grow in the country when capital gain tax has been imposed on real estate and property. He warned that increasing tax rates in this manner itself invites tax evasion.
He expressed his astonishment over the fact that there was no mention of the measures vis-à-vis export promotion, import reduction, privatization policy and most importantly the IPPs, the key factor behind the high power tariff.
He also apprehended that the budget will aggravate inflation and create hurdles in the way of industrialization and economic activity in the country adding that it would badly hamper exports, because of the inclusion of the export sector in the normal tax regime.
Ahsan Zafar Bakhtawari concluded his statement by saying that the business community is the real locomotive force for the economy of the country but the Government has totally ignored the proposals floated by the Chambers including the ICCI to tailor a business friendly budget to help revive the corporate activities in the country.
