FPCCI urges govt to review taxes on construction industry

Says increase in FED on cement, duty on coal will harm the sector

ISLAMABAD: The Federation of Pakistan Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FPCCI) on Saturday asked the government to revisit the new taxes slapped on sub-sectors of the booming construction industry in order to save it from harm.

The construction sector was providing jobs to millions of people while dozens of allied industries depended on it, therefore, taxes imposed on steel, cement and coal should be reconsidered, it said.

“The government increased the federal excise duty on cement and regulatory duty on coal in the last budget and repeated it in the recent budget, which is set to damage the construction sector,” said FPCCI Regional Committee on Industries Chairman Atif Ikram Sheikh. The decision would increase the construction cost and increase the rent for domestic and commercial property, he added.

Sheikh was of the view that the government had imposed new taxes to reduce the deficit, but it increased the salary of government servants over and above the inflation rate just to please them.

He said the target of the Federal Board of Revenue was not realistic and failure to meet it would result in reduction in the allocation for development projects.

The government increased reliance on sales tax and withholding tax, but it did not initiate reforms, noted the FPCCI official.

The government is paying extra attention to new projects while ignoring upgrade of the existing power plants and the transmission and distribution network, which could result in wastage of a good part of investment.

Published in The Express Tribune, June 11^th, 2017.

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