ICCI terms budget ‘burdensome’ for business community, common man

ISLAMABAD: The Islamabad Chamber of Commerce & Industry (ICCI) termed the first annual budget presented by the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf government as “quite taxing and burdensome for the business community as well as for the common man” as it has further enhanced many taxes besides abolishing tax exemptions.

ICCI President Ahmed Hassan Moughal said that the budget has abolished zero-rating facility for five export-oriented industries, which would enhance their production cost and make exports uncompetitive in the international market.

He said that Pakistan badly needed to improve its volume of exports in order to revive the economy, but doing away with zero-rating for the export-oriented sector would thwart all efforts to enhance exports.

Moughal said that sugar, ghee and cooking oil were the items of daily use for common man, but the government has enhanced sales tax on sugar from 8pc to 17pc and imposed 17pc federal excise duty on ghee/cooking oil which would directly impact the masses.