PRIME Minister Imran Khan on Tuesday unveiled an incentives package for the promotion of industrial sector with focus on attracting investment from the local and expatriate business community and strengthening the country’s export- oriented industrial and manufacturing base.
It is certainly the first time that such a comprehensive and incentive laden package has been given to the industries, fruits of which will be visible in the next few years.
Amongst its most important features are five percent across the board payment of tax for all amounts invested and five year tax holiday for expatriates.
Under the package, the investors will be liable to establish new industrial units by creating a new company.
Similarly, the business community can also avail this facility for balancing or modernizing its existing industry, which is aimed at reviving the sick units.
The package has been announced just one day after Prime Minister Imran Khan whilst announcing reduction in prices of petroleum products and electricity tariff also announced a zero tax rate for IT freelancers.
These are very pivotal steps and the ones in the right direction which if would have been taken much earlier, the country would not have been faced with dire economic situation today.Industrial sector is of great importance for economic development of any country.
Industrialization offers a range of potential benefits including more job creation, higher economic growth and tax revenues.
We are sure that the tax holiday announced for expatriates will really encourage them to invest in productive sectors of the economy provided the undue hurdles in the setting up of industrial units are also done away with.
We will suggest that a special one-window facility should be established for overseas Pakistanis so that they could make their investment without any hurdle.
The affluent expatriates must also be contacted and informed about the benefits being extended to them.
Simultaneously, we should maintain the close engagement with the Chinese side in order to realize at the earliest the investment promised by the Chinese companies during the visit of Prime Minister Khan to Beijing.
All this will change the economic landscape of the country and put it on the path of self-reliance where it would no longer have to take dictations from international financial lenders.
