Tax Excellence Award: Rafi suggests ways to boost economy, tax revenue

ISLAMABAD: Tariq Rafi, Chairman of Siddique Sons, the country’s top textile exporter, has said that Pakistanis should strengthen the country by paying taxes and also developing their businesses.

In an interview, he said no one could succeed by evading taxes. “Regional trade is very important. For this we have to enhance regional trade and must focus on value addition,” he added.

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif presented the Tax Excellence Award to Tariq Rafi for paying the highest tax in the income tax category.

Rafi said that there were countless opportunities for development in Pakistan. “Our education curriculum needs to be changed and children should be given technical education so they can compete for jobs all over the world. This is the era of IT and artificial intelligence. India’s IT exports are worth $200 billion and Pakistan’s IT exports are only $2-2.5 billion.

“We lagged far behind the world by denying IT education to our children,” he maintained.

Tariq Rafi pointed out that there were many flaws in Pakistan’s tax system. “Tax exemptions to the agriculture sector should be removed. The initiative to bring shopkeepers in the tax net is a welcome step. A foolproof system should be created for collection of taxes; the FBR should be reformed and digital tax collection be implemented. This will greatly increase the tax revenue. Loss-making government agencies like PIA, railways, Pakistan Steel Mills and Discos should be privatised,” he added.

Rafi said that no one can succeed by evading taxes. “Tax collection is very important for business development. There are vast opportunities to increase Pakistan’s exports. Most of Pakistan’s exports are textiles and we need to increase the cotton yield which is decreasing now. We have to promote exports of finished products instead of raw materials and resort to value addition,” he suggested.