KARACHI:
At a time when the digital ecosystem of Pakistan is beginning to takeoff, the government has taken an adverse step and imposed taxes on mobile phones and laptops through the mini-budget.
Terming it detrimental for the sector, the market has widely criticised the move and urged the leadership to re-evaluate and understand the repercussions of this decision.
The government has introduced a 17% tax on mobile phones, valued at $200 to $500, besides imposing a 17% tax on imported machinery for cellphones manufacturing.
In addition, it has slapped a tax of 5% on laptops, which are in high demand especially after the Covid-19 induced lockdowns.
Speaking to The Express Tribune, Alpha Beta Core CEO Khurram Schehzad termed the move “inconsistency in government’s policies”.
“On one hand, the government wants to promote digitisation and on the other, it is imposing taxes on digitisation tools,” he underlined.
Elaborating on the mechanism, SI Global CEO Noman Ahmed Said mentioned that the digital enterprises and supply networks involved the integration of digital information from many different sources and locations to drive the physical act of manufacturing and distribution.
“This integration of information technology (IT) and operations technology is marked by a shift towards a physical-to-digital-to-physical connection,” he said.
This combines the Internet of Things (IoT) and relevant physical and digital technologies, including analytics, additive manufacturing (AM),...
Read Full Story: https://tribune.com.pk/story/2337790/taxes-on-it-products-to-hit-growth
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