ISLAMABAD - The United Business Group (UBG) of FPCCI has lauded the moves of the business-friendly government which infused confidence in the business community through various positive initiatives and urged the business community to pay taxes honestly.

According to a press release issued here on Sunday, the package for exporters worth Rs180 billion and other moves would result in revenue shortfall to the tune of billions which should be bridged by paying taxes honestly, UBG Zonal Chairman Naseemur Rehman said.

He said that various relaxations had resulted in reduced cost of doing business that had added to the income of business community but no hike in tax collection was recorded which was discouraging. Naseem said that business community should pay taxes properly otherwise the government could reconsider giving incentives to it. He said that apart from the export package of Rs180 billion, the government kept oil prices unchanged for months which resulted in an impact of Rs150 billion.

Zero rating for five export sector has been estimated to be around Rs130 billion. Fertiliser was the third largest taxpaying sector on which sales tax had been slashed from 17 percent to 5 percent which was translating into a loss of billions to the revenue collectors, he informed.

Moreover, he said Rs13 billion had been paid as subsidy to fertiliser manufactures in the first eight months of the current fiscal as part of an effort to bring the price of key input down. It was high time that business community be start paying taxes so that Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) could achieve its annual target and process of nation building could be accelerated, he added.