Daily Times

A delegation of the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) led by its Chairman Sulaiman S Mehdi met Prime Minister Imran Khan at the Governor House in Karachi on Sunday.

PSX board members and businessmen, including Aqeel Karim Dhehdi, Arif Habib and Basheer Jan Mohammad, were also present at the meeting, which was attended by Finance Minister Asad Umar, Sindh Governor Imran Ismail and other prominent members of the cabinet.

During the meeting, stockbrokers demanded Prime Minister Imran Khan to cut taxes on equity markets and its share trade.

It was demanded that the advance tax of 0.02 percent% on purchase and sale of shares (both sides) to be reduced to 0.01 percent, however on the request of the chairman, the foreign minister agreed to consider abolishing it completely.

Moreover, they asked the prime minister and his cabinet members to allow carry forward of capital losses up to three years.

Their other major demands included rationalisation of taxation of holding companies on inter corporate dividend; rationalisation of Capital Gain Tax (CGT) on equities in line with real estate in the next budget; promote listing of GOP and CPEC projects debt at PSX and curtailing regulation over brokers for promoting equity investments.

Leading businessman Aqeel Karim Dhedhi expressed his dissatisfaction over the appointment of the SECP board member, especially its chairman Khalid Mirza. He requested the premier to appoint competent persons at the PSX.

Meanwhile, the issue of tax refund claims was also discussed at the meeting. They also asked the prime minister to help ease cost of doing business. “Unnecessary paperwork is giving rise to all sorts of audits – CDC audit, PSX audit, SECP inspection, ITT audit and inspection, internal audit, external half yearly and annual audit, NCB audit, LCB audit and so on and so forth, which have certain costs attached with it.”

Published in Daily Times, December 10^th 2018.