KARACHI, April 16: The two-day South Asian tax summit, 2008, concluded here on Wednesday after adopting the ‘Karachi Declaration’ for regional economic development. The participants unanimously agreed that through cohesive tax and administrative policies growth in the regional countries could be accelerated.

The declaration stressed the need to enact multilateral treaty for avoidance of double taxation amongst the regional countries of South Asia.

The summit on the theme of “Regional cooperation for economic development – vision 2020, was jointly organised by the Income Tax Bar Association, Karachi, (ITBAK) and some professional bodies.

Papers on different subjects relating to trade and fiscal policies affecting the taxation and economic development of the Saarc member countries were read by leading tax consultants from Sri Lanka, India and the Middle East.

The 9-point declaration suggested that there should be no limitation on the flow of trade and services within the region.

It also demanded that the regulatory framework for the development of networking of professional firms within the region should be encouraged and taxation and tariff laws should be harmonised.

It was agreed in the declaration that a system to replace offshore jurisdictions for investment in the region be developed. The participants also adopted a resolution to make appropriate amendment in the corporate laws to allow cross border mergers within the region.

It was stressed that tax conferences in collaboration with regional professional bodies should be held every year in Saarc member countries. It was also felt that there should be uniform IT solutions for revenue management among countries of the region.

However, it was strongly recommended that restriction on issuance of visa to businessmen, professionals and government officers be withdrawn.

Based on the deliberations during the summit it was concluded that the future of the region was very bright due to the vast human resources, and strong cultural background, which only requires a joint dynamic initiative to achieve the goal of progress and prosperity.