RECORDER REPORT

LAHORE: The Lahore Chamber of Commerce & Industry on Friday appreciated Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi and his Special Assistant Haroon Akhter for siding with business community demands regarding simplified tax system and end to harassment of the businessmen.

LCCI President Malik Tahir Javaid in his statement on Friday said that a simplified tax form and end to harassment of the business community were long-standing demands of the Lahore Chamber which have been acknowledged by the prime minister.

“In this regard, we had several meetings with the top hierarchy of the present regime including Prime Minister’s Special Assistant on Revenue Haroon Akhter and Chairman Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) Tariq Mehmood Pasha besides highlighting issues of cumbersome taxation system and harassment amongst the business community by the tax officials,” he added.

This move by the premier of Pakistan will give a good message to the business community which is the backbone of economy and is in deep trouble because of trouble-making taxation system, misuse of discretionary powers by the tax officials, regulatory duty on various imports, withholding tax on banking transactions and double taxation, he said, and hoped that the Prime Minister would take notice of these issues.

LCCI President said that solution of these issues is a must to give notable expansion to the tax net and to enhance the tax to GDP ratio that is around 11 percent as compared to 30 to 40 percent ratio in the developed countries. There is an urgent need to reform the taxation system by engaging all the stakeholders, he said, and urged the government to withdraw withholding tax on bank transactions, citing that it would give a big relief to the business community.

He also called for removal of double taxation system that is hampering the trade and economic activities in the country. The government must put in place more effective measures to weed out the menace of smuggling and under-invoicing, besides bringing the untaxed sectors/businesses into tax net, he added.