Mian Rashid Asghar.
FAISALABAD: Mr. Atif Munir Sheikh, President Faisalabad Chamber of Commerce & Industry (FCCI) has expressed the serious concerns over the ten percent super tax and said that business community was expecting that government would overcome the deteriorating economic situation with its “super performance” instead of resorting to the traditional strategy of levying new taxes. Addressing a delegation of the business community, he said that the annual federal budget for the year 2022-23 has just been approved by the National Assembly along with super tax contrary to the budget speech of the finance minister. “Actually Government has clubbed the mini budget in the main annual document”, he said and reiterated its demand that government will have to take up such ticklish issues with the chambers and business community to thresh out its pros and cons as we are in a position to give better options to control the deficit. He termed super tax as an additional budget which would directly hit the industrial sector in addition to catalysing inflation at the grass root level. He differed with the opinion of the government that it would collect funds from wealthy segments which would be spent to mitigate the sufferings of the poor. He said that the bloodbath of the Pakistan Stock Exchange is indicative of its immediate and ill impacts on the overall economy. He said adding that 65% of the local textile industry has already get closed while the remaining is at the verge of collapse. He further affirmed that the emerging situation would be detrimental to the economy which would also open the flood gates of unemployment. He further said that its fall out impact would also be in the form of deterioration in law-and-order situations and would become difficult for the government to control it in near future.
He urged upon the government to start immediate negotiation with the chambers to save the economy from total annihilation.