Government’s decision on a tax-free budget is commendable: Ajmal Baloch

ISLAMABAD: (DNA) –  Ajmal Baloch, President All Pakistan Traders Association and Traders Action Committee Islamabad.  Secretary Khalid Mehmood Chaudhry, Malik Rabinwaz, Shehzad Abbasi, Abdul Rehman Siddiqui, Syed Altaf Hussain Shah, Yousuf Rajput, Chaudhry Aftab, Zafar Iqbal Gujjar, Chaudhry Ghaffar, Raja Khurram Niaz, Chaudhry Irfan, Raja Javed, Raja Shahid, Chaudhry Reyast Ali, Raja  Ambassador, Iftikhar Abbasi, Chaudhry Shafiq, Zahid Hussain, Muhammad Fayyaz and Mehboob Khan attended a meeting via video link.

The meeting approved proposals from businessmen for the federal budget.  Expressing his views on the occasion, Ajmal Baloch said that Finance Advisor Hafeez Sheikh has announced that the next budget will be tax free which is appreciated by the business community and it is a good government decision because in the last three months Pakistan  Has suffered a lot economically, the economy has shrunk, the business of traders is on the verge of collapse.

Under these circumstances, traders cannot afford any kind of tax.  Various packages were announced by the government but there was no benefit other than the concession given in the electricity bill.

The lockdown continues in the country and the government is warning that there will be more hardships in the future.  He urged the FBR officials not to think too harshly.

 
Khalid Mehmood Chaudhry, Secretary, Traders Action Committee, Islamabad, said that the FBR should accept the cases of total audit and withdraw the notices issued.

The decision to install point-of-sale devices on large business units should be postponed for the time being as the business is 60% closed.

He further said that the economy is shrinking and the economic situation will not improve in the future. In such cases, new taxpayers will not be found.

The FBR should prepare the budget in the light of existing sources of income.  If the guidelines of international organizations are followed, the ongoing storm of inflation in Pakistan will increase.  He demanded the government to make the suggestions made by the traders a part of the budget.