PESHAWAR:
Industrialists from the merged tribal districts have called for fulfillment of promises made during FATA’s merger with Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, demanding urgent tax relief in the next federal budget to save local industries from collapse.
Speaking at a press conference at the Peshawar Press Club on Wednesday, prominent industrialist and FATA Industries leader Khalid Khan Afridi, along with leaders of various chambers of commerce, demanded that the 10 percent sales tax imposed on industries in the merged districts be immediately reduced to four percent. They also called for income tax exemptions and relief.
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 the government continues to impose new taxes every day. No one is thinking of providing relief to the ex-FATA and ex-PATA industries,” Afridi said.
He stressed that given the current dire conditions and the devastated state of industry in the merged districts, the federal government should immediately reduce sales tax from 10 percent to 4 percent and provide income tax relief.
Afridi directly appealed to the Prime Minister, Finance Minister and Field Marshal Syed Asim Munir to sit with them, give them time and listen to their proposals. He pointed out that in the last eight months, all industries in FATA were closed due to the closure of the Pak-Afghan border, leaving thousands of workers unemployed.
“These workers do not even know how to reach Islamabad to raise their voices for their rights, while the business world is facing severe difficulties due to the closure of industries,” he added.
