KARACHI: A “Pakistan First” approach along the lines of “America First” and “Make in India” will strengthen the domestic industry and galvanise stakeholders, the Pakistan Business Council (PBC) said on Tuesday.

In a letter to Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, the council said economic and political stability, better security situation, a change in global perception of Pakistan, and massive investments in infrastructure under CPEC have prepared the ground for robust growth.

However, a “properly branded and powerfully amplified” campaign is needed to build on gains in wake of global recession, a wave of protectionism, rising oil prices, volatility in the Middle East and the vulnerability of remittances.

The council believed these objectives could be achieved by arresting the “premature” de-industrialisation of the country’s industry. “With the right policies, there is no reason why the domestic industry cannot gain scale and become competitive,” it said.

The council regretted that Pakistan’s exports comprised of commodities as opposed to value-added exports, which generated more jobs and earned higher foreign exchange. It called for integrating industrial, trade, agriculture, labour and fiscal policies, a level playing field for value-added exports, discouraging exports of primary commodities, and automating rebates and refunds.

On broadening the tax base, the PBC suggested that the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) should be equipped with technology and trained manpower, and transaction tax on non-filers should be raised to increase the tax base, and not as a means for the FBR to collect revenue through a withholding agent.

Besides, the presumptive tax regime should be abolished, and FBR’s role should be limited to collecting taxes and not making tax policy as it led to short-term revenue-oriented measures at the cost of long-term health of the economy, the council said.

Published in Dawn, March 22nd, 2017