LAHORE: Pakistan Furniture Council (PFC) Chief Executive Mian Kashif Ashfaq Thursday lauded appointment of Rukhsana Yasmin as chairperson Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) and said she would utilize all her skill to strengthen partnership between FBR and the business community for economic growth and development of the country through better interaction and confidence, instead of complaining of each other.
In his statement, Mian Kashif said FBR can play vital role for stabilisation of economy and this is only possible when FBR extends its interaction with the business community. He said she would take sustainable and durable result oriented actions to broaden tax base in Pakistan and potential non-tax payers must be brought into tax net at all cost. He said that the outgoing government has taken stringent measures to control the inflation but the widening gap between imports and exports has nullified all economic achievements and now some experts are floating proposals to get assistance from IMF.
He said that in order to overcome the impact of devaluation, the country will require revenue from Rs4 trillion to Rs6 trillion. This situation may have negative impact on the economy, he added.
Mian Kashif underlined the importance of taxes but remarked that trust deficit between the tax payers and tax collectors is major hurdle in the promotion of healthy tax culture in the country.
He stressed transparency in government expenditures in addition to highlighting some burning issues of the business community. Appreciating FBR steps for expanding tax network in Pakistan, he said has taken two major steps, barring non-filers from purchasing plots and vehicles. “This step has been taken to bring them into the tax net which will certainly increase the number of tax payers and thus share the burden of existing tax payers. Furthermore, he also appreciated FBR amnesty scheme and said Tax Amnesty Scheme is a major step to stabilize national economy in the wake of dwindling foreign exchange reserves and declining exports.
He further said FBR will also establish close and warm coordination with furniture makers as this sector having great potential is neglected by the government in regard of its promotion. He said this furniture sector needs exemption from tax for a period of ten years at least so that it can establish itself. “I believe that the tax exempted furniture sector in Pakistan will enliven the economy in general. New jobs will be created and production levels will increase, making economy actors happy. We have already seen the signs of a rebound in the economy,” he said.
He said Pakistan’s furniture industry has a big potential to dominate global markets with innovative designs and can significantly contribute to exports; however, it direly needs a package of incentives and facilitation for boosting exports.
The PFC chief said the government should patronize the local industry by discouraging import of furniture items. Rather, he said, the government should announce a package of incentives to local manufacturers so that they could enhance the volume of their export items to gain their significant share in international market.
