PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari on Tuesday said that the country’s economy cannot be run with force and suggested that the federal government allow provinces to collect taxes to bolster the economy.
Speaking to journalists after meeting with the business community at the Federation of Pakistan Chamber of Commerce and Industry (FPCCI), Bilawal also suggested that the provinces could directly collect sales tax, in view of independent reports about a Rs3 trillion leakage.
“Wherever you need our help at the level of the president of Pakistan, our governors, we are ready to do so for your district-wise economic uplift plan,” the PPP chief said.
“The prime minister also desires to work for this, but the difference between their approach and ours is that they believe in centralisation and we focus on decentralisation,” he added.
Bilawal acknowledged the business community’s concerns about high tax rates, but maintained that his party believes in collecting more taxes to strengthen the economy.
“Though the goal is the same, the problem is that the sitting and previous governments wanted to run the economy by force. We think that the economy cannot be run by force, but through a soft attitude,” he added.
“You can attract more bees with honey than vinegar. Therefore, if we make our tax rates competitive and give respect to taxpayers, instead of snubbing them or bringing them into the tax net by force, we can get better results,” Bilawal argued.
