Untaxed Sectors: Industry calls for widening tax net

Businessmen reject government's plan to impose wealth tax.

LAHORE:

The Lahore Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI) on Friday rejected government plans to impose wealth tax, while calling for a revision of general sales tax to 12 per cent and bringing all untaxed sectors including agriculture into the tax net.

Speaking at a pre-budget press conference, LCCI office-bearers said that there should be no sales tax on essential food items, their raw materials, pharmaceutical products, their raw materials and educational material, including stationery and printing paper.

They also called for minimum rate of duty on import of raw materials along with well-targeted measures to discourage import of finished products for the sake of promotion of domestic trade and industry, urging the government to rationalize levies on oil products as high oil prices were negatively impacting the economy.

In addition, LCCI office-bearers urged the government to bring down the interest rate to single digit for being a prerequisite to expedite the process of industrialisation.



Published in The Express Tribune, May 14^th, 2011.