STAFF REPORT ISLAMABAD: The tax environment in Pakistan is not business friendly as the tax on cellular industry is high for operators and users alike, making business and communication the most expensive as compared with that in other regional countries.The local cellular sector in Pakistan has been victim of heavy taxes in comparison with entire region as its overall rate reached 31 per cent whereas the regional countries tax heads contained between 10 to 15 per cent.
The discriminatory and high GST at the rate of 19.5 percent affects the cellular subscribers’ utility of telephony services and revenues of the government.
The activation tax is an extra burden on cellular operators who are paying a big amount to the government from their own pocket and earn less owing to high cost of operation and price war.Similarly, the withholding tax is already not recommended on subscribers with low income but it has been increased to 11.5 per cent from 10 per cent that also discourages users to spare the facility of telephone services for essential communication.
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