Marred by terror: ‘Tax exemption vital to bring trade back to life’

KPCCI president tables proposal for 2015-16 federal budget

PESHAWAR: The Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KPCCI) has recommended a five-year tax exemption as a possible life-saving drug for the province’s languishing business sector.

Addressing a press conference on Thursday, KPCCI President Fawad Ishaq presented a number of suggestions for the 2015-16 federal budget, on behalf of K-P’s business community.

Ishaq said the tax net should be widened, at the same time be accommodating for investment. “The financial and social costs of running a business in terror-marred K-P are very high,” he said, adding it is time the government levies tax on agricultural produce. “Increasing the burden on existing taxpayers will bear little fruit,” he maintained. The chamber’s proposal contains recommendations for the country’s income tax, sales tax and federal excise laws.



Flanked by KPCCI Vice President Haji Muhammad Iqbal and former president Zahid Shinwari, Ishaq said the government should formulate policies keeping the law and order situation of K-P in mind. He said a new relief package for the province’s businessmen is the need of the hour.

“We urge the Federal Board of Revenue to abolish Section 126(f) of the Income Tax Ordinance 2001,” he said. “The regional tax office imposed sales tax on books issued by the K-P Textbook Board,” he said, terming it a violation of law. Ishaq said such a tax is not levied in any other part of the country.

The chamber president also spoke at length about the proposed route of the Pak-China Economic Corridor. He said a change of plan will add to the sense of deprivation already prevalent in the province. “The decision to divert the route on the pretext of security defies logic,” he said, throwing weight behind the resolution passed by the provincial legislature against the change in route. The corridor aims to connect Gwadar port to the Chinese city of Kashgar.

Published in The Express Tribune, May 1^st, 2015.