Acting President Islamabad Chamber of Commerce & Industry (ICCI) Muhammad Naveed Malik has called upon the government to review the decision of putting ban non-filers from purchasing property of Rs.5-million and above in the budget 2018-19 as it would hit remittances and entail harmful consequences for the economy.
Islamabad, (Pakistan Point News - 11th Jun, 2018) : Acting President Islamabad Chamber of Commerce & Industry (ICCI) Muhammad Naveed Malik has called upon the government to review the decision of putting ban non-filers from purchasing property of Rs.5-million and above in the budget 2018-19 as it would hit remittances and entail harmful consequences for the economy. The ICCI Acting President was talking to a delegation of Traders Welfare Association, G-8/1, Islamabad which led by its Secretary General Abdul Ghaffar Chaudhry called on him here on Monday.
Vice President ICCI Nisar Mirza was also present at the occasion. Khalid Chaudhry, Shiraz Siddiqui, Ch. Nasir Iqbal, Faizan Shehzad and Tahir Chaudhry were in the delegation. Muhammad Naveed Malik said that every year, Overseas Pakistanis were sending remittances of billions of Dollars that were playing crucial role in supporting the economy. He said almost 50 percent of the remittances finding way to property and real estate sector, but the new decision of the government would hit new investment in property sector.
He said that of the $20 billion remittances received, around $ 8-10 billion went into the property and real estate sector. However, he said that after placing bar on non-filers from investing in property of Rs.50 million and above through budget 2018-19, the government has taken a decision that makes the overseas Pakistanis to explore possibilities of investing in other countries. It would also discourage new investment in real estate sector in Pakistan and affect remittances as well.
The Acting President ICCI said that Pakistan needed more local and foreign investment to improve its economic growth, but putting ban on non-filers from investing in property would discourage badly affect investment, especially in real estate sector. He said that Dubai has recently offered 10-year visa to investors and their families while Canada has also offered nationality against investment of $0.8 million. However, decisions were being taken in Pakistan that were not favorable to attract new investment in the country. Muhammad Naveed Malik emphasized that the government should enhance the tax rate for non-filers and allowed them to invest in property sector so that this sector could play more effective role in the economic development of the country.
