January 04, 2017
President Pakistan Businessmen and Intellectuals Forum (PBIF), President All Karachi Industrial Alliance, Senior Vice Chairman of the Businessmen Panel of FPCCI and former Provincial Minister Mian Zahid Hussain on Wednesday said growth in the telecom sector is imperative for boosting GDP and reducing poverty.
He said that government should reconsider heavy taxation on the critical sector as it is hitting revenue and quality of service.
Mian Zahid Hussain said that heavy taxation is discouraging investment in this sector but a European company has planned to invest 400 million dollars in Pakistan which should be given all the facilities.
He said that telecom sector has great potential which is yet to be realised. According to an estimate the sector will attract investment of over two billion dollar until 2020 and it will contribute Rs 620 billion in taxes while the number of subscribers will jump to 160 million.
The business leader said that the sector earned Rs 446 billion in 2014-15 while it fetched Rs 452 billion in 2115-16. It paid Rs 126 billion as taxes in 2014-15 which jumped to Rs 157 billion in 2015-16.
He informed that the telecom sector paid Rs 243 billion in taxes in 2013-14 which indicate that heavy taxation has damaged it capacity which should be considered by the policymakers.
The number of people seeking high speed broadband has jumped to 25 million after launch of 3G and 4G but the issue of quality has disappointed many which is impediment in the way of digital revolution.
It is estimated that usage of broadband will jump to 44 percent by 2020 which will push GDP up by 4.1 percent for which government should resolve the issues of this sector and ensure production of mobile sets in the country, he demanded.
