APNS urges Sindh govt to withdraw proposed GST on newspaper ads | Pakistan Press Foundation (PPF)

Pakistan Press Foundation

APNS urges Sindh govt to withdraw proposed GST on newspaper ads

KARACHI: The APNS has strongly urged upon the Sindh government to withdraw the proposed General Sales Tax on the advertisements of newspapers as the governments of other provinces have already exempted the newspapers from the GST.

Sarmad Ali, Secretary General, APNS, has stated that the Government of Punjab has on the request of APNS, not levied any GST on newspapers whereas the Government of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa has withdrawn the proposed tax. The APNS has stated that Sindh is now the only province where GST on advertisements on newspapers is being imposed and hoped that the Sindh government would also follow the policy of the Punjab and Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa.

The APNS has pointed out that the majority of publications in Sindh depend on government advertisements as private business is released to major newspapers only, thus the levy of 16% GST would badly affect their economies and would practically reduce the quantum of revenue by 16%. The newspapers are already facing financial crunch due to economic slowdown and are unable to bear the heavy burden of the proposed taxation.

The APNS requested the Chief Minister, Sindh, Syed Qaim Ali Shah, to exempt the levy of GST on newspaper advertisements to save the print media from disaster.
Source: The News
Date:6/17/2011