ICCI wants uniform ‘national sales tax’

Says move will lead to increased revenue, improve ease of doing business

ISLAMABAD: Islamabad Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ICCI) President Khalid Iqbal Malik urged the government to implement a single national sales tax in a statement released on Friday.

Malik said the move will help in streamlining the taxation system and improving tax revenue of the country.



"Under the current sales tax regime, businesses have to pay multiple sales tax at federal and provincial levels due to which the cost of doing business has gone up," he said, adding that the introduction of a unified sales tax structure will help in integrating the country's economy and facilitating transfer of goods and services across the country.



He said the prime benefit of unified tax structure will be Pakistan becoming a common market where each product or service will be taxed similarly in all provinces and federal areas instead of multiple tax rates being applied.



"The move will create a level playing field for local companies in export markets," he stated.

ICCI Vice President Tahir Ayub said that introduction of a national sales tax regime will also facilitate faster growth in business activities by reducing compliance formalities including filing of tax returns with multiple provincial and federal authorities.

"India has already implemented a single sales tax structure and Pakistan should also seriously consider it to facilitate the growth of economic activities and improve tax revenue of the country," he added.

Published in The Express Tribune, July 29^th, 2017.

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