All businesses should pay taxes: FPCCI

KARACHI: President of the FPCCI Atif Ikram Sheikh said on Monday that all businesses should pay taxes and small traders should register with the FBR under its Tajir Dost Scheme (TDS).

The FPCCI hosted a well-attended session of small traders with the FBR’s chief commissioners of Karachi -- RTO I and RTO II. Chief Coordinator of the FBR Tajir Dost Scheme Naeem Mir was also present. The session was held to establish better understanding and coordination between the FBR and small traders. Ikram Sheikh expressed his satisfaction that despite some initial problems, 22,000 small traders have been registered under the scheme so far.

SVP of the FPCCI Saquib Fayyaz Magoon reiterated that the FBR needed to expand the tax-net and simplify the taxation system to improve Pakistan’s tax-to-GDP ratio, instead of further squeezing existing taxpayers.

However, he added, the process should be in consultation with the business community; should be fair and transparent; and undertaken in a business-friendly manner. Magoon stressed that the country’s tax-to-GDP ratio stands poorly at 9.0 per cent while regional and sub-regional countries have achieved that ratio in the range of 16–18 per cent. He proposed that the FBR should not impose tax on retailers on turnover basis, but there should be a fixed tax.

He added that imposition on turnover basis would negatively affect the acceptance or registration rate and threaten the dynamics of established business practices.VP of the FPCCI Aman Paracha maintained that terms and conditions of taxing the traders should be made clear soon to address their concerns and apprehensions and take the registration process further.

If traders were confident that registering with tax machinery was in their interest and business benefit, the FBR’s scheme could be a huge success, he said. Naeem Mir highlighted that authorities are well aware of the plight of small traders who cannot afford an accountant or a lawyer to file taxes through the FBR’s prescribed method, which is why the FBR has come up with the Tajir Dost mechanism. He added that in a short span, at least 22,000 small traders have registered.

This, according to him, is a testimony that they are willing to register. Convener of the FPCCI’s Sindh Regional Standing Committee on Small Traders Abdul Rehman Khan said that “Karachi is the business and commercial hub of the country, and giving its traders an opportunity to interact with senior FBR officials through the apex platform of FPCCI will create awareness on a large scale.”

Chief Commissioner of Regional Tax Office–I (Karachi) Dr Muhammad Sarmad Qureshi and Chief Commissioner of Regional Tax Office–II (Karachi) Ms Hina Akram answered the queries of the traders present in the session in detail.