Govt urged to bring down sales tax to a single-digit

ISLAMABAD: Business community on Thursday urged the government to reduce sales tax to a single-digit for promoting trade and business activities in the country. Downward shift in the sales tax would help reduce the cost of doing business, which would help industrial growth and create more job opportunities for educated, skilled and semi-skilled labour in the country, they said.

Talking to APP, Islamabad Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ICCI) President Shaikh Amir Waheed proposed the government to bring down the sales tax from the existing 17 percent to a single-digit.

The Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) had sought sales tax-related proposals from all the stakeholders by January 31, which would be considered for incorporation in the federal budget for the fiscal year 2018/19, he said. Reduction in the sales tax to a single-digit would reduce inflation and increase the purchasing power of the common man, Waheed said, adding that it would also help improve and promote business activities, besides flourishing the national economy.

Meanwhile, Federation of Pakistan Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FPCCI) Senior Vice President Mazhar Ali Nasir said that the federation is engaged with the government on tax-related issues from 2014 and presented different proposals to rationalise the taxation system in the country.

The FPCCI has also prepared a working paper on sales tax and suggested the government to use this paper and reduce sales tax on 25 products, at the initial stage, and if it would prove beneficial for the government, then it should be extended to other products.