Business Community rejects luxury tax in Islamabad and calls for its withdrawal - Press Release issued by Islamabad Chamber of Commerce and Industry.

Islamabad -- June 15, 2020 (PPI-OT)

Following is the text of press release issued by Islamabad Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ICCI)

Quote

Muhammad Ahmad Waheed, President Islamabad Chamber of Commerce and Industry has said that the government has proposed in the Finance Bill 2020 imposition of a luxury tax in Islamabad @ Rs.100,000/ kanal on houses with a covered area of more than 6000 square feet, Rs.200,000/ kanal on houses with a covered area of over 8000 square feet, Rs.25/square feet on farm farmhouses with a covered area between 5,000-7,000 square feet and up to Rs.80/square feet on farmhouses with a covered area of over 10,000 square feet, however, this luxury tax was not acceptable to all stakeholders including the business community as imposition of such a tax only in Islamabad was not justified by any standards. He, therefore, demanded of the government to reconsider the imposition of luxury tax in Islamabad Capital Territory and withdraw this decision immediately.

Muhammad Ahmed Waheed said that other major cities of the country including Karachi and Lahore have bigger houses and farmhouses than in Islamabad and if no luxury tax was imposed on them then what was the justification of imposing such a tax only in Islamabad. He further said that business community had proposed a number of budget proposals including cut in interest rate to bring it down to five per cent, reduce sales tax to single digit level, defer receipt of loans with interest from the businesses for one year and provide relief package to SMEs.

However, the government has ignored all such suggestions of the business community in the budget, which was disappointing. He said that the Covid-19 has severely affected business and industrial units in the...