In a letter to Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Sohail Afridi has requested the withdrawal of the proposed tax exemptions in the merged districts and the Malakand division, it emerged on Wednesday.
The development comes as the move to withdraw tax exemptions has received much flak from the PTI-led KP government as well as traders in the region. Last week, the provincial government decided to formally communicate its concerns to the Centre through an official letter.
In the letter, dated July 6 and available with Dawn, CM Afridi requested that the existing tax exemptions should continue “until conditions justifying such exemptions have materially improved” in Malakand and the merged districts.
He held that the decision was taken “despite the fact that the people of KP and their elected provincial government stand hand in [glove] at strengthening of Pakistan’s fiscal position through a fair and sustainable taxation system”.
CM Afridi told the premier that the issue was not solely limited to taxation but rather against the commitments the federal government had made at the time of the merger.
