KARACHI: Federation of Pakistan Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FPCCI) on Thursday demanded the government of consultations with stakeholders on the planned mini-budget.
FPCCI President Mian Nasser Hyatt Maggo in a statement expressed his deep concerns over the approach of the government for not taking the apex business, industry, and trade body of Pakistan into the consultative process over mini-budget; and, what will it entail!
This effectively keeps all the stakeholders out of the loop, he added.
FPCCI President said that there are strong rumors that the government will also facilitate only the selected vested interests in the planned mini-budget next week. If all measures demanded by IMF are implemented, the people of Pakistan and the SMEs will have to endure an enormous burden of Rs. 800 billion, he added.
The FPCCI chief, referring to the announcement made by Finance Minister Shaukat Tarin, said that there is no way the current state of the economy can withstand an additional burden of Rs. 350 billion in taxes and the economy will collapse; and, the government would have to take the stakeholders into the consultative process to rekindle the process of economic growth after much damage.
Maggo said that the Finance Minister should immediately start the consultative process with FPCCI over the planned mini-budget. FPCCI has always kept the doors of the apex representative trade body of Pakistan open; but, the government has never paid any heed to the mutually-beneficial proposals we have put forward, he added.
The FPCCI chief said that the apex body had sent proposals on taxation reforms and broadening of the tax base, way back in February 2021; instead, the government has incompetently and insensitively has embarked on the path of tax pyramiding.
He reiterated that no more taxes can be extracted from the existing taxpayers. We should reach out to alternative multilateral financing sources and friendly countries for bilateral financing, he added.
