PHOTO: REUTERS
‘Pakistan lags far behind in agriculture’
The request is part of OICCI’s budget proposals for fiscal year 2017-18, which it submitted to the Sindh government. OICCI proposals are focused on accelerating economic growth and FDI inflow in the province and the country, according to a press release.
“OICCI members appreciate the action of the Sindh government for reducing the rate of sales tax on services, from 15% to 13%, in the last two years,” said OICCI President Khalid Mansoor while commenting on the OICCI’s taxation proposals.
OICCI members have noted that after the reduction, the Sindh government through Sindh Revenue Board was able to increase its tax collection on services by 21% in the first six months of the fiscal year 2016-17 compared to the corresponding period in 2015-16. This highlights the fact that lower tax rates lead to higher collections, he added.
OICCI, an association which represents about 200 multinationals operating in Pakistan, wants sales tax rate on services in Sindh be further reduced from 13% to 10% over the next three years for registered entities.
Telephone usage sales tax rate (18%) should be made equivalent to General Sales Tax (GST) rate on services. Services of pharmaceutical industry and exports by registered persons should be zero-rated while Stamp Duty on Purchase Orders should be eliminated as it is a tax on ‘instrument’ and not on a transaction.
Tax awareness: Sargodha University, RTO ink agreement
The OICCI taxation proposals for Sindh also include recommendations for a better coordination between all sales tax authorities in Sindh, Punjab, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan and with the Federal Board of Revenue.
Published in The Express Tribune, April 11th, 2017.
Like Business on Facebook, follow @TribuneBiz on Twitter to stay informed and join in the conversation.
COMMENTS
Comments are moderated and generally will be posted if they are on-topic and not abusive.
For more information, please see our Comments FAQ