APBF gears up for budget proposals

Forum president says consultation with business community imperative for economic growth

LAHORE: The All Pakistan Business Forum (APBF) has started consultations with experts for the final preparation of the proposal for the upcoming federal budget.

APBF President Ibrahim Qureshi said Saturday that an effort being made to provide the government with a set of suggestions that would help turn the upcoming budget business-friendly.

“The business community understands that Finance Minister Ishaq Dar is utilising his best abilities to overcome the economic challenges, but at the same, the private sector considers itself duty-bound to tell the government of several hitches faced by it,” he said.

“The private sector plays a leading role as far as economic policy framework is concerned all over the world, therefore the APBF has also been playing its role to bring the country out of the economic mire through a well-tailored budget proposal,” he added.



The APBF’s budget proposals will cover recommendations including proposals to incentivise investors, broaden the tax net through documentation of economy, simplify the tax system and reorganise the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR).

Qureshi added that promotion of foreign direct investment (FDI), increment of the share of direct taxes in revenue and reduction of the slab of indirect taxes would help achieve key economic targets set for the next fiscal year.

“In the proposal, the APBF will also suggest that the sales tax slab should immediately be curtailed in order to reduce inflationary pressures.”

Meanwhile, the APBF president asked the FBR to utilise its abilities to overcome the economic challenges and consult the private sector to remove hitches to speedy economic recovery.



He said the all the executive committee members have been asked to submit sector-specific details about the problems being faced by their respective businesses, while a meeting of all the trade and industry associations has also been convened to get their final suggestions about the upcoming budget.

After finalising these proposals, the APBF would submit them to the finance ministry so that these proposals could be incorporated in the upcoming budget document.

Published in The Express Tribune, April 30^th, 2017.

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