LAHORE: Government and private sector are vital for each other and they cannot run alone. Government must develop policies conducive for business environment and address genuine issues of the business community.
This was stated by the LCCI Acting President Khawaja Khawar Rashid and Vice President Zeshan Khalil while speaking at a dinner hosted by Textile Traders Association. Iftikhar Ai Malik, Farooq Iftikhar Sheikh Muhammad Asif, Abdul Basit, Awais Saeed Piracha, Ch. Aurangzeb Aslam, Sheikh Zafar Iqbal, Ch. Khadim Hussain, Rana Mahmood and Nadeem Abbas also spoke on the occasion.
Khawaja Khawar Rashid said that business community is driving force of the economy but it cannot play its due role for economic wellbeing of the country while carrying huge burden of the problems like withholding tax on banking transactions, misuse of the discretionary powers by the tax collection machinery, high prices of utility prices and delay in refunds etc.
He said that there is an urgent need to reform the taxation system by engaging all the stakeholders. He urged the government to withdraw withholding tax on bank transactions in the larger interest of the trade and industry. He said that this tax has forced the business community to conduct its monetary transactions in cash. He said that withdrawal of withholding tax on bank transactions would give a big relief to the business community. He also called to remove the double taxation system that is hampering the trade and economic activities in the country.
The LCCI Vice President Zeshan Khalil said that the government would have to weed out the menace of smuggling and under-invoicing before implementing any tax avoidance measures. He said that it was very unfortunate that instead of widening tax base and bringing the untaxed sectors into the tax net, steps are being taken to squeeze the existing tax payers. The LCCI Vice President, while inviting the budget proposals of Textile Traders Association, informed that concerned government departments seriously consider the LCCI trade & industry-related budget proposals.
