KARACHI: Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) has urged the tax authorities to allow tax credit to Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) to encourage listed on the stock exchange.
The PSX in its proposals for budget 2022/2023 submitted to the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR), said SMEs contribute immensely to Pakistan’s employment, export and GDP growth, and provide 80 per cent of all employment in the country.
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A well-functioning SME segment at the Stock Exchange offers a range of benefits including greater access to growth capital for innovative SMEs, documentation, good governance, new jobs through entrepreneurship, more investment opportunity for domestic investors and local venture capitalists.
PSX has launched an SME board to attract smaller companies to get listed on the exchange. The aim is to facilitate SMEs with an alternative to bank financing for their expansion growth and projects.
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In order to encourage small and medium enterprises to get listed on the SME Board, it is proposed that the rate of tax for such listed SME companies be permanently lowered by giving tax credit of 50 per cent of tax payable for 3 to 4 years of listings and then onwards 20 per cent of the tax payable.
The PSX said that the share of the manufacturing sector in the job market is only 14 per cent. This is very low because 80 per cent of the manufacturing investments in large scale industries provide less than 20 per cent of the manufacturing jobs. Over 80 per cent jobs are provided by SMEs.
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There are significant fiscal tax credit benefits in Spain, Kenya, Brazil, Argentina and other parts of the world for SMEs.
The PSX proposed: In clause (iii), Division II, Part I of the First Schedule to the Income Tax Ordinance, 2001 after a colon the following proviso shall be added, namely:
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“Provided that where a tax payer is a small or medium sized company as defined under the Third Schedule of the Companies Act, 2017 and is also listed on the registered Stock Exchange in Pakistan, the tax credit @ 50% of the tax payable on the taxable income of such company, other than a banking company, shall be allowed for the tax year 2021 and onwards.”
