(June-19-2023)
Chairman of National Business Group Pakistan, President Pakistan Businessmen and Intellectuals Forum, and All Karachi Industrial Alliance, and former provincial minister Mian Zahid Hussain said on Monday that it is impossible to increase investment, employment, and revenue without reducing the burden on the tax-paying sectors of the economy.
Constantly increasing the tax burden on tax-paying sectors is tantamount to driving them out of the country, he said.
Mian Zahid Hussain said that in the country’s GDP, agriculture accounts for 23%, while wholesale, retail accounts for 18%, construction and transport account for 19%.
The burden of direct taxes in these sectors is negligible, which does not happen anywhere in the world.
Talking to the business community, the veteran business leader said that due to non-collection of tax from important sectors, the entire burden of tax falls on manufacturing, other tax-paying sectors and the public, which will result in serious economic problems.
The business leader said that the situation of the country’s economy is troubling and the non-cooperation of international organizations in these circumstances can prove to be very harmful.
Due to the non-cooperation of the IMF, it has become impossible to obtain cheap loans from international institutions and other sources as well and as a result our foreign exchange reserves continue to decrease, he added.
He said that it is very critical for Pakistan to finalise a deal with the IMF as soon as possible.
The international financial community is getting a very negative message about Pakistan due to continued accusing the IMF, therefore it has become necessary to end this practise.
Mian Zahid Hussain further said that the advice of the countries and institutions that want to lend to Pakistan should be given importance. If the country goes bankrupt, a long and painful period will begin, the situation will become more difficult and the people will become uncontrollable.
Our country can better deal with the current economic situation provided that the cost of doing business is brought down to par with other countries in the region so that exports can increase.
The government should establish a cost accounting authority which can determine the cost of doing business for Pakistani producers and bring the prices of gas and electricity to the level of competing nations, he suggested.
We are not required to repeat the mistakes of the past, stop making empty claims and political parties have to decide to prioritize the interests of the country above everything else and stick to it; otherwise the worst economic crisis in the country’s history will destroy everything, he warned.
