LAHORE: Traders, industrialists, property dealers welcomed Federal Budget 2022-23 presented on Friday, reacting to measures taken in the budget according to impact on them.
Qaumi Tajir Ittehad chairman Anser Zahoor Butt said small traders were afraid to join point of sales regime and welcomed fixed regime proposed in the new budget.
“There are around 25 million shuttered shops in the country, which are engaged in retail business. Even if 75 percent of them fall in this scheme, the government will net over Rs250 billion at average collection of Rs5000 through monthly power bills.”
He added that categorisation of who falls under Rs3000 and whom in the higher value bracket should be done fairly.
High Tech Hybrid Seeds Association president Shahzad Malik welcomed decision to withdraw sales tax on all seeds including oil seeds. The decision he said would ensure availability of quality imported and local seeds, which would boost agricultural productivity.
Malik said quality seeds imported or developed by local researchers give 3-4 times more productivity than conventional seeds. The use of these seeds was increasing when sales tax was imposed in the last supplementary budget.
Pakistan Poultry Association former chairman Abdul Basit applauded removal of sales tax on soybean feed, a major ingredient of poultry feed.
Knitwear Exporter M I Khurram welcomed the decision of struck up refunds of exporters worth RS41 billion within this month.
He said the plus promised acceleration of sales tax refunds would improve the liquidity of the exporters. He stated that the finance minister had assured of regular supply of power and gas, but the industry hoped that supply on regional rates would also continue, he added. Property dealers were not pleased with imposition of tax on second or more immovable property. They said the decision would deter people from buying new properties.
“Many families buy additional properties for their growing children that they transfer to when they reach 18. Now they will have to tax this property for years,” a property dealer Khalid Rehman said.
Rehman urged that the state should find a way to document all immovable properties tax to a buyer if he/she fails to give money trail. Meanwhile, economists were of the view the government had to comply with International Monetary Fund (IMF) conditions while presenting a probably election year budget.
“The government was not able to increase taxes that hurt general votes, but at the same time, it had to take revenue measures to enhance FBR revenues by over Rs1000 billion,” said economist Faisal Qamar.
He added that enhancement of banking sector tax rates was needed, saying the state needed higher revenues as it had accumulated wealth in the last 20 years.
Qamar said enhancement of corporate tax by two percent and that on cars above 1600cc would also not impact the middle or poor classes.
He termed tax on immovable property a prudent move, saying it would affect the affluent who have more than one immovable property of over Rs25 million.
He was not sure how traders would react to fixed monthly tax through power bills, but cautioned that the decision would keep traders outside the documented economy. Qamar said inflationary pressures would continue to impact prices of essential items.
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