THIS is with reference to your
editorial ‘Best option’ (Sept 21). The reason for the PML-N government’s
reluctance to enforce VAT is the fear that it will alienate the traders, who
constitute a big chunk of its voters.
Otherwise, it should be fairly
simple to introduce VAT in the country by offering incentives to the public. A
system which I saw in Taiwan many years ago should be followed.
The CNIC numbers of those
buyers who purchase more than Rs2,000 at a time should be eligible for a prize
in a draw held every day and televised nationally (in Pakistan it could be once
a week).
I don’t think religious
authorities would object because this scheme is similar to prize bond draws
which are already in vogue. People would prefer to buy from only those shops
where VAT is recovered, and in this way the government will increase its
revenue collection substantially.
SHAKIR
LAKHANI
Karachi
Printed
in DAWN, September 24, 2013
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