He said an effort being made to give the government a set of suggestions that would help turn the upcoming budget business-friendly in true sense of the word. He said business community understood that Finance Minister Ishaq Dar was utilising his best abilities to overcome the economic challenges but, at the same, the private sector considered itself duty-bound to tell the government of several hitches faced by it.
All over the world the private sector plays a leading role as far as economic policy framework is concerned; therefore, APBF has also been playing its role to bring the country out of the economic mire through well-tailored budget proposals.
The government and the private sector should be on the same page on minor and major economic issues so that they could be resolved amicably and without any further delay, he said. The budget proposals will cover recommendations, including proposals to incentivise investors, broaden the tax net through documentation of economy, simplify tax system and reorganise the FBR and many industry-specific proposals. Promoting foreign direct investment (FDI), increasing the share of direct taxes in revenue and lowering the slab of indirect taxes would help achieve key economic targets set for the next fiscal year, Qureshi said.
APBF, in its budget proposals, would also suggest that the sales tax slab should immediately be curtailed in order to reduce inflationary pressures, he said. The APBF president said that efforts would be made to give government a set of suggestions that would help turn the upcoming budget business-friendly in true sense of the word.-PR
Copyright Business Recorder, 2017