Senate Panel Seeks End to Stationery Sales Tax
The Senate Standing Committee on Finance, Revenue and Economic Affairs has taken an important step to protect children’s educational facilities from inflation and has recommended abolishing sales tax on stationery items.
This recommendation was made during a meeting held at Parliament House under the chairmanship of the committee chairman, Senator Saleem Mandviwala.
In the meeting, the committee members expressed a unanimous opinion that imposing a tax on basic necessities like education is not only an additional burden on the people but also hurts the literacy rate of the country.
Chairman of the committee, Saleem Mandviwala, stressed that the imposition of sales tax on stationery like copies, pencils, pens, rubbers, colours and other educational materials affects the right to education of the common man; therefo, the government should completely exempt these items from tax.
Senators also strongly supported this position and said that the rising cost of education in a developing country is already a cause of concern for parents. in such a situation, it has become necessary to eliminate taxes on educational items.
The committee demanded that stationery products be completely exempted from sales tax in the budget of the next fiscal year.
It should be remembered that for many years, parents and the business community have been demanding that taxes on items related to the educational needs of children be eliminated so that financial obstacles in their educational path can be reduced.
The recommendations of the committee will be sent to the Ministry of Finance, and it is hoped that this demand will be seriously considered in the next budget.
