PESHAWAR:
Industrialists from the merged tribal districts have called for the fulfillment of promises made at the time of FATA’s merger with Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa and demanded urgent tax relief in the upcoming federal budget to save local industries from collapse.
Addressing a press conference at the Peshawar Press Club on Wednesday, prominent industrialist and head of FATA Industries, Khalid Khan Afridi, along with leaders of various chambers of commerce, demanded that the 10 percent sales tax levied on industries in the merged districts be immediately reduced to four percent. They also called for exemptions and reliefs in income tax.
The press conference was attended by Haji Amjad Khan of Mohmand Chamber of Commerce, Haji Lali Shah of Bajaur Chamber of Commerce, Inamullah Khan of Malakand Chamber of Commerce, Engineer Arsalan Khan and Shahzad Arif.
“Our industry is currently on the brink of destruction. On one side there is terrorism and on the other side the government continues to impose new taxes every day. No one is thinking of providing relief to ex-FATA and ex-PATA industries,” Afridi said.
He emphasized that in view of the present dire conditions and ruined state of industry in the merged districts, the federal government should immediately reduce sales tax from 10 percent to four percent and provide relief in income tax.
Afridi directly appealed to Prime Minister, Finance Minister and Field Marshal Syed Asim Munir to sit with them, give them time and listen to their suggestions. He highlighted that for the last eight months, all industries in FATA have been closed due to the closure of the Pak-Afghan border, leaving thousands of workers unemployed.
“These workers do not even know the way to Islamabad to raise their voice for their rights, while business is facing severe difficulties due to the closure of industries,” he added.
