KARACHI: The three-day PakPlas2017 – the International Exhibition of Plastic Machinery, Equipment, Raw Material and Technology attracting thousands of visitors, concluded on Sunday at the Expo Centre, Karachi. The expo was organised by the Pakistan Plastic Manufacturers Association (PPMA) to promote the plastic industry of Pakistan. Talking to the media on the third day of the expo, officials from the PPMA urged the government to impose a lump sum 5% tax on the plastic industry rather than taking 17% currently on various accounts. They believed the government should prepare an economic budget for the growth of the economy. Patron-In-Chief PPMA Zakaria Usman said that the government is collecting 17 percent tax for refund and rebateetc, of which 3.9 percent is deposited in the government exchequer. “We urgethe government restrain from all such fraud and just take five percent overall tax, and let plastic industry perform its part in the national economy independently,” he argued. “This will ensure industrialisation and the creation of jobs for our youth,” adding that the government should present an economy based budget in lieu of a revenue based budget. Usman stated that earlier people used tin plates but now plastic is being used everywhere. Most of airplanes and cars are made of plastic. The government should help the raw material industry, he concluded. More than 80 companies from all over Pakistan and abroad participated in the expo. Companies displayed their products, technology, and machinery. Zakaria Usman, Chairman Ehtesham Uddin, Vice Chairman Shoaib Munshi, Convener Exhibitions Ali Kunji, Imran Ghani, Zafar Saeed, Zahid Ahmed, S M Anwar, S M Noman, Siddique Adam and others were present at the concluding event.