By Commerce Reporter
LAHORE— The Senior Vice President (SVP) of the Lahore Chamber of Commerce & Industry (LCCI) has strongly urged the federal government to position export promotion and tax base expansion as the absolute central pillars of the upcoming federal budget.
He emphasized that Pakistan’s path to sustainable economic growth relies entirely on enhancing exports and building an equitable, modernized taxation system.
Speaking to a gathering of prominent business leaders and industry stakeholders at the chamber, the SVP noted that Pakistan’s economy is currently wrestling with severe headwinds. He specifically pointed to the widening trade gap, escalating production costs, and an unsustainably narrow tax net that disproportionately burdens compliant taxpayers. The upcoming federal budget, he stressed, cannot rely on temporary fixes; it must introduce practical, structural measures to boost industrial competitiveness, facilitate exporters, and actively encourage investment in high-yield, value-added sectors.
“Exports are the foundational backbone of our economic stability and foreign exchange earnings. We cannot continue to rely on borrowing to stabilize our reserves. The government must use this budget to announce a comprehensive package of incentives for exporters, guarantee the swift release of stuck refund payments, and drastically reduce the cost of doing business.”
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The LCCI official explained that the high costs of energy and raw materials are crippling local industries, making it incredibly difficult for Pakistani goods to compete in international markets. He called for subsidized energy tariffs for export-oriented industries and the elimination of regulatory duties on essential industrial raw materials to level the playing field.
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Turning his attention to fiscal reforms, the SVP stated that expanding the tax net is no longer optional—it is a matter of national survival. He pointed out that repeatedly squeezing existing taxpayers to meet revenue targets is killing private sector growth. Instead, the government must leverage modern digital technology and data integration to bring undocumented sectors into the tax net, thereby distributing the tax burden fairly across the economy.
The LCCI SVP concluded by urging the government to engage in meaningful, pre-budget consultations with the private sector. He reiterated that the business community is fully prepared to partner with the state to achieve economic sovereignty, but warned that a restrictive or short-sighted budget could stall the industrial recovery the country so desperately needs.
