August 09 - 15, 1999

NATIONAL TAX CARD'S SCHEME AND TAXATION REFORMS

(i) National Tax Card/Number Scheme may be introduced in replacement of National Identity Card/Number Scheme and every adult citizen male or female should be required compulsory to obtain a National Tax Card and number from his/her district of domicile/origin and this system should be computerized with a national net-work.

(ii) The National Tax Card/Number should be required for the purpose of identification/ employment / admission (in case of adults), passport, driving licence for sale/purchase, of land / property / vehicle(s) / machineries / T.V.(s) / V.C.R.(s) / Dish(s)/ Refrigerator(s)/Air conditioner(s) and for the purpose of registration(s) of Nikah(s)/marriage(s) and for the purpose of casting votes/lodging of F.I.R. (s) and for the purpose of application(s) for telephone(s)/ gas/ electricity connection(s).

(iii) Every citizen (rural or urban) who having an income of Rs. 36,000/- per annum or above is required to pay income tax at the rate of 10% per annum and the minimum wage(s) or salary of a person should be declared as Rs. 3,000/- per month.

(iv) Every adult citizen including low income persons)/ unemployed/ house wives/ students (if adult) holding a National Tax Number or Card should be required to file annual return(s) declaring all assets/ properties / and sources of income(s) (if any) and purchases in their name(s) showing their annual income if it is below than Rs. 36,000/per annum or NIL.

(v) The National Identity card scheme should be merged in the National Tax card/number scheme. This new scheme will increase the tax base and the number of tax payers will be increased and it is estimated that the tax payers will be 25 millions in new system and National Exchequer can earn about Rs. 125 Billions per annum on account of income tax from the New Income tax payers, and the one year revenue from the direct income tax from the new tax payers is equal to the whole stuck-up bank's loans. — Saalim Salam Ansari, Advocate

(The Author is a Prominent Economist, Practicing Banking Lawyer and author of various books on Economics, Law & Banking.)

 

Dr. Asif's Call to BOP Employees

The Acting Chairman/Managing Director of the Bank of Punjab Dr. Asif Hafeez Shaikh has called upon the Bank Officers to work strenuously, dedicatedly and honestly for the progress of the Bank to achieve the highest profit in the history of the Bank.

He was addressing the trainees after inaugurating a two month training course in general banking at the Officer's Training Institute in Lahore.

He said the Bank of Punjab is not only a commercial bank but also an institution rendering useful services to the Nation in important sectors viz Agriculture, Industries, Urban Transport, business and trade. It has provided loans to small farmers to the tune of Rs. 53 million under the Kissan Dost Finance Scheme. The rate of recovery of loans under this scheme is 100%.

The Bank provided loans of Rs. 481.9 million under the Green Tractor Scheme for boosting agricultural production and released loans of Rs. 330 million to indigent applicants under the Prime Minister's Self Employment Scheme for the Youth.

Similarly it is the only Bank which has provided services to the poor and needy under the Prime Minister's Food Stamp Scheme. It has also played a pioneering role for the success of Lahore Urban Transport System by providing loan of Rs. 200 million,

Earlier, the Principal, Mr. William John welcoming the new trainees advised them to imbibe in themselves, the qualities of discipline, punctuality and mutual cooperation to achieve optimum results.

Caption

Dr. Asif Hafeez Shaikh, Acting Chairman/M.D. the Bank of Punjab addressing the Bank officers after inaugurating general banking course at Training Institute Lahore.

 

CALTEX- GERRY'S JOINT INDEPENDENCE DAY PROMOTION

Caltex Oil (Pakistan) Limited has joined up with Gerry's Travel for a super duper Independence Day offer for the Nation, from August 6-14, 1999. Customers can win air tickets to Skardu, by just filling up their cars with Caltex's superior quality fuel. This offer is available at 30 Caltex Service Stations in Karachi, Lahore, and Islamabad / Rawalpindi.

Customers receive a coupon on every 10-litre fillup and can drop them at any of the participating service stations. These coupons will be included in 7 lucky draws and each winner will receive two return air tickets to Skardu from the above cities.

All participating Stations look very attractive, with their colorful banners and A-boards. This promotion is definitely going to be very successful and will also add to the festivity of the occasion.

 

RUSSIAN CONSUL GENERAL VISITED KCCI

Mr. Yuri Materiy, Consul General of the Russian Federation, called on Mr. Javed Muslim President, Chamber of Commerce & Industry, Karachi, today and discussed matters of mutual interest.

Mr. Yuri Materiy stressed that enhancement in the interaction of the private sectors of the two countries, especially in the trading sector, would help increase the level of economic cooperation. He was of the view that the mega projects, which are usually at the government level, are not much effective in opening up the vistas for broadening the base of commercial and economic relations in the private sector.

He, recalling the recent visit of the Prime Minister of Pakistan to Russia, hoped that the economic cooperation agreement signed on the occasion would go a long way in strengthening the trade and economic relations between the two countries. The formation of joint ministerial committee, which is an integral part of the agreement, will help bridge the communication gap between the businessmen of the two sides in a big way, he added. "A memorandum of understanding, signed between FPCCI and Russian Federation of Chambers of Commerce and Industry, would greatly contribute in the promotion of two way economic and commercial relations", he a hoped.

The Consul General also proposed to initiate groundwork for the identification of potential sectors, which may be explored for the

mutual benefit and offered the services of his office in this regard. Mr. Javed Muslim, KCCI President, said that two countries could benefit from each other through joint collaborations in various fields, including heavy machinery, automobiles, power generation, etc. Commenting on the two-way trade, he pointed out that it depicted a see-saw type balance. "Meanwhile, the low volume of trade highlighted the untapped potential for increasing trade between the two countries", he said.

He said that the list of Pakistani exports to Russia was limited to only a few items like Cotton, Textiles and Leather and imports into Pakistan from Russia were mostly related to infrastructure development items.

Mr. Abdul Sami Khan, Chairman, Law & Order Sub-Committee, Capt. A. Moiz Khan, Chairman, Local Bodies & Octroi Sub-Committee, Mr. Habib-ur-Rehman, Chairman, Banking Sub-Committeeand Mr. M. Nazir Ali, Secretary were also present on the occasion.

Companies in Pakistan need pubblic relations than ever before

There is an urgent need for the use of strategicc public relations practices in companies in pakistan than ever before, the facct that we find ourselves in one cirisis after another wothout really solving the core issues.

It was stated, by Menin Rodrigues, conssultant and senior executive vice president of Hill and Knowlton's Pakistan affiliate Asiatic Public Relations Network (APR) while addressing the final year students of Mass Communication of the Karachi University.

In an iinter-active lecture and discussion with the under-graduates, Menin emphasized the need for public relations in many sphres of national and private enterprises. He spoke about the confrontational issues facing many government organizations and civic agencies and vehemently urged the students of mass communication to usher in a new era of publicizing issues to bbring about truth and openness in solving them.