Islamabad, June 29, 2021 (PPI-OT): Former President of Islamabad Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ICCI) Dr. Shahid Rasheed Butt on Tuesday said lauded the decision of the government to avoid imposing new or additional taxes on flour and packaged mils as it would have burdened masses by trillions of rupees.

He said that Pakistan continue to have the highest tax rate on ghee and cooking oil in the world which should be reconsidered as it is an important food item. The budget measures will translate into a burden of Rs60 billion on the masses stoking poverty and anxiety, he said.

Shahid Rasheed Butt said that ghee and cooking oil were already attracting the highest taxes in the world which needed to be reduced but the same were increased which will hit the pockets of poor. He noted that tax exemptions given to erstwhile FATA and PATA has resulted in sleepless nights for the industrialists working outside the tribal region.

The steel, cement as well as ghee and cooking oil sectors have serious reservations about the move as they fear that it will benefit few and promote tax evasion. The highly reduced cost of doing business due to the recent budget measures will expose the businessmen of Sindh, Punjab, and settled areas of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa to an impossible competition. Top industrialists of the concerned sector have not only started contacting opposition leaders to apprise them about their concerns but also decided to challenge the decision once it becomes an act.

For more information, contact:
Dr. Shahid Rasheed Butt
Consul General Ghana
Former President ICCI
Former Patron ICST
Tel: +92-333-5132199, +92-51-2822571