Staff Reporter
Lahore
Low number of taxes, reduced frequency of payments and an effective mechanism of the refund payments would not only give a momentum to the economic activities but also help further improvement in ease of doing business index.
Lahore Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI) President Irfan Iqbal Sheikh, Senior Vice President Ali Hussam Asghar and Vice President Mian Zahid Jawaid Ahmad expressed these views in a media statement issued here Tuesday.
They said that these measures were much needed to ease out the business community, citing that Pakistan stood at an appalling position of 161st in the doing business ranking of paying taxes.
According to the World Bank Doing Business 2020 Report, they mentioned, Pakistani businessmen pay 34 taxes in a year as compared to Hong Kong 3, UAE 5, Ireland 9, Malaysia 9 and India 12 and these are the countries Pakistan has to compete with in the world economy.
While giving the break-up, LCCI office-bearers said that businesses in Pakistan make one payment of Corporate Income Tax in a year, 12 payments of Employer paid-Pension Contributions, 12 payments of Social Security Contributions, one payment each of education cess, property tax, professional tax, vehicle tax, stamp duty, fuel tax and various other tax payments. They said that taxes were imperative to run the affairs of the government but these should be imposed in an efficient way, keeping in view the ground realities.
The LCCI office-bearers demanded that monthly frequency of tax payments related to Employees Old Age Benefit Intuition (EOBI) and Punjab Employees Social Security Institution (PESSI) must be reduced to once a year. They said that professional and property tax should be clubbed together. Likewise, federal and provincial sales tax should also be clubbed and the frequency of its payment should be reduced to once a year. They said that all tax payments should be accepted through credit card, debit card, direct debit or using internet/mobile banking.
