(October 07, 2024)
The Chairman of the FPCCI Advisory Board and National Business Group Pakistan, President Pakistan Businessmen and Intellectuals Forum, and All Karachi Industrial Alliance, as well as former provincial minister Mian Zahid Hussain, said on Monday that the possibility of a mini-budget is decreasing due to tax reforms.
He claimed that fully digitising the FBR would double revenue collection and free taxpayers from harassment.
Mian Zahid Hussain said that the finance minister is not in favour of the mini budget, but it depends on the cooperation of the tax bureaucracy.
The veteran business leader told the business community that if the bureaucracy works hard, it can save the masses and businesses from further burdens.
The business leader stated that the implementation of tax reforms will expedite the country’s economic recovery, thereby offering relief to both the public and the business community.
He noted that some expenses should be transferred to the provinces, and those provinces that show laziness in collecting agricultural income tax should be considered for deduction from their payments.
According to Mian Zahid Hussain, investors and the international community are once again confident in the Pakistani economy, but another five percent interest rate reduction is necessary to improve the situation.
Lauding the role of SIFC, he said that Pakistan’s global ranking is also improving, and there is a need to attract foreign investment as well as pay attention to local investors so that they can do their job.
The inflation rate has dropped to less than nine percent, the rupee remains stable, and exports, particularly those from the IT, textile, and agricultural sectors, are on the rise. Therefore, the central bank should avoid unnecessary precautions and immediately lower interest rates to stimulate business activities.
A reduction in interest rates will ease the government’s burden, boost business activity, and create jobs for the masses, he remarked.
The Finance Minister wants to stop taking out loans from private banks as soon as possible to allow the private sector to receive advances, according to Mian Zahid Hussain.
He added that we should digitise the economy to collect full tax, reducing the burden on the industry, salaried workers, and other tax payers, rather than harassing sectors that are not paying tax or are paying less tax, such as wholesalers, retailers, and the property sector.
The five lakh increase in the number of filers is welcome, but if people’s lifestyles are checked, zero-filing and under-filing will end, and the government’s income will increase to an incredible extent, which will change the country’s situation, he observed.
In this regard, the services of two thousand auditors are being obtained, and if they are allowed to work, the situation will change further.
In addition to enhancing the tax system, Mian Zahid Hussain suggested that the government should curb its escalating expenses, which the IMF closely oversees.
