SCCI suggests taxing agri, property

LAHORE: Sheikhupura Chamber of Commerce and Industry (SCCI) suggested bringing all income under the tax net, including agriculture income and money earned through buying and selling of property, industrial and residential plots.

SCCI President Tariq Nazir, former Presidents Amjad Nazir Butt, Tariq Mughal, Mazoor Malik and Mian Farooq, CEO, Jamal Pipe Industries, on Friday briefed the Lahore Economic Journalist Association (LEJA).

They said that members of senate, national and provincial assemblies hardly took interest in legislation and enacting tax laws. They themselves defy tax laws in the country. The tax directory 2014 publish by the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) said their tax amount paid was very low.

The chamber members suggested that income tax return form should be simplified with minimum documentation. Also, cumbersome, lengthy and non-friendly audit should be simplified. Income and sales tax audit should not go beyond five and one year respectively, they demanded.

The SCCI urged the government not to implement income and sales tax on utility bills during the gas shutdown periods and from those units that have been closed for a longer period.

The members of the chamber said the Value Added Tax (VAT) system should be introduced with minimum documentation in Pakistan to discourage corrupt businessmen, tax officials and other government officials.

Under invoicing and over invoicing should be eliminated by the coordination of stakeholders and arrangement of frequent meetings of custom officials with the members in the concerned chamber of commerce.

They also suggested the State Bank of Pakistan should issue instructions to all banks to consider the feasibility of project for advancing loans, instead of personal grantee for rapid industrialisation.

The members of the Sheikhupura chamber appreciated that the government has issued security features on stamp papers with barcode and serial number to curb fraud due to misuse of old stamp papers. More than fifty years old stamp papers were available for misuse with the connivance of the departments concerned, they said, and urged the government to cancel the old stamp papers.