DESIGN: ESSA MALIK
A statement by the Sindh caretaker finance minister, Syed Shabbar Zaidi, calling for taxing agricultural income, has irked a grower’s body which accused him of trying to please a Karachi-based political party.
The Sindh Chamber of Agriculture took strong exception to the comments and its president, Dr Syed Nadeem Qamar, said that the minister should better tax the ‘bhais’ of Karachi to improve the revenue collection in a meeting with the growers on Friday.
The debate over bringing the agriculture sector under the tax net has been a contentious issue for a long time now with little headway over the years.
While parties such as Muttahida Qaumi Movement are proponents of taxing the agricultural income, the growers have used their strong representation in the legislature to frustrate any such move. The growers claim that the government collects various direct and indirect taxes from their sector in the form of taxes on agricultural inputs, land and irrigation cess.
Qamar also said that the caretaker government should restrict itself to conducting elections and leave the policy making for elected representatives.
Published in The Express Tribune, April 22nd, 2013.
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Agriculture makes up a big chunk of our GDP, and it is only right that they too are also Taxed. Granted, they have losses due to floods and other unforseen circumstances, but a majority of them do just fine!
The govt, needs to probe into the agriculture industry and set a Tax scheme that would be fair and transparent. Keeping in mind, the smaller farmers who may not be able to afford it, but the fuedals have lived long enough reaping benefits of our Taxes and not paying themselves.
So you are saying that since I pay taxes on my purchase, I should not be paying tax on my income?