Pakistan has robust IT sector and it is not growing with every passing day, but every passing moment. However, the government brain is not ready to accept it as the future of this nation.The information technology should not be considered mere a science, but economy which can transfigure everything in this part of the land. English so far had been considered a curse which was unwantedly and unwarrantedly imposed on this nation, but this proved a blessing in disguise as this language is used in all software programming in the country. Pakistan has one of the best IT professionals and they are serving not only in far-flung lands, but also assisting various sectors in the country and offer online services to their overseas on competitive rates. But the sector is under pressure as the government is creating confusing to tax it or not. Hundreds of software companies have already shifted their businesses to Dubai and Kuala Lumpur and others are weighing options.
The IT sector does not need special electricity connections, huge covered areas and heavy-duty machines, but billions of dollar business is done at a limited space with laptops. Looking at the potentials of the IT business, the government has begun mouthwatering and is trying to reign in this sector one way or the other. The IT sector means business as well as the economy. When India exported $99.6 billion worth of software applications in a year, Pakistan could hardly bag $820 millionand that also due to individual efforts. It should be noted that Malaysia has 67 percent Internet penetration, China has 49 percent, India 30 percent, Bangladesh 31.9 percent and the ratio is 14 percent in Pakistan. Experts blames lopsided import duties on computer hardware and highest tax regime on its components responsible for the poor performance. Pakistan is the third largest tax imposing country on mobile phones among 122 countries in the world. The next budget is in hand and it is strongly believed that the government will not spare the cyber technology from heavy taxation.
The World Trade Organization requires every country, including Pakistan to eliminate tariffs on import of IT related products. The bureaucracy always looks at short-term measures and ignores their after effects. The government will have to decide which way it wants to move –either to adopt old coercive methods to achieve short-term gains or it opens up the country for business and trade with the rest of the world for a long-term partnership. According to world financial agencies, Pakistan is heavily taxed country and it taxes everything which comes its way. The IT sector is the economy of this nation and it must be protected from bureaucratic highhandedness.
