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China’s ‘soft’ imperialism: Will Pakistan gain nothing from CPEC?
Global Village Space |
F. M. Shakil |
The US$56 billion China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) – a part of China’s ‘One Belt One Road’ vision – has yet to translate into the ‘game changer’ envisioned by its sponsors. Worse than that, the unparalleled tax breaks and mounting security costs involved have already saddled Islamabad’s exchequer with a hole in its finances of over US$2.5 billion.
Pakistan’s lower house was informed last month that the government had issued a statutory regulatory order (SRO) giving a series of tax exemptions to Chinese firms as an incentive for working in what is considered a highly dangerous zone. These concessions – extensive tax breaks from customs duty, income tax, sales tax, federal excise duty and withholding taxes – have been granted to Chinese companies for the whole of the CPEC operation, including road, mass transit, and Gwadar port projects.
Read more: CPEC’s vulnerabilities: Can Pakistan carve a way out?
Islamabad went back on its oft-repeated position policy on tax immunity. Only this month, it withdrew tax exemptions worth Rs100 billion (US$945 million) with the aim of bringing its budget deficit down.
“There is absolutely nothing in the CPEC for the local trade and industry; even the labor is coming from China, which will cause a steep escalation in the operational cost of the project,” said Muhammad Ishaq, a leading industrialist and a director of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Board of Investment & Trade in conversation with Asia Times. He cautioned CPEC will be a big disaster for Pakistan in the long run.
Interestingly, while affording concessions to the Chinese companies, Islamabad went back on its oft-repeated position policy on tax immunity. Only this month, it withdrew tax exemptions worth Rs100 billion (US$945 million) with the aim of bringing its budget deficit down. Since 2014, it has withdrawn around US$3.25 billion in exemptions.
The generous tax holiday to Chinese contractors and companies is in addition to the US$1 billion sum Islamabad has so far pledged to put in place a failsafe security to protect the CPEC-related projects and the Chinese personnel working on them. The overall project cost is expected to jack up thanks to the induction of a 15,000-strong force to provide round-the-clock surveillance.
Read full article:
China’s ‘soft’ imperialism: Will Pakistan gain nothing from CPEC?
Global Village Space |
F. M. Shakil |
The US$56 billion China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) – a part of China’s ‘One Belt One Road’ vision – has yet to translate into the ‘game changer’ envisioned by its sponsors. Worse than that, the unparalleled tax breaks and mounting security costs involved have already saddled Islamabad’s exchequer with a hole in its finances of over US$2.5 billion.
Pakistan’s lower house was informed last month that the government had issued a statutory regulatory order (SRO) giving a series of tax exemptions to Chinese firms as an incentive for working in what is considered a highly dangerous zone. These concessions – extensive tax breaks from customs duty, income tax, sales tax, federal excise duty and withholding taxes – have been granted to Chinese companies for the whole of the CPEC operation, including road, mass transit, and Gwadar port projects.
Read more: CPEC’s vulnerabilities: Can Pakistan carve a way out?
Islamabad went back on its oft-repeated position policy on tax immunity. Only this month, it withdrew tax exemptions worth Rs100 billion (US$945 million) with the aim of bringing its budget deficit down.
“There is absolutely nothing in the CPEC for the local trade and industry; even the labor is coming from China, which will cause a steep escalation in the operational cost of the project,” said Muhammad Ishaq, a leading industrialist and a director of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Board of Investment & Trade in conversation with Asia Times. He cautioned CPEC will be a big disaster for Pakistan in the long run.
Interestingly, while affording concessions to the Chinese companies, Islamabad went back on its oft-repeated position policy on tax immunity. Only this month, it withdrew tax exemptions worth Rs100 billion (US$945 million) with the aim of bringing its budget deficit down. Since 2014, it has withdrawn around US$3.25 billion in exemptions.
The generous tax holiday to Chinese contractors and companies is in addition to the US$1 billion sum Islamabad has so far pledged to put in place a failsafe security to protect the CPEC-related projects and the Chinese personnel working on them. The overall project cost is expected to jack up thanks to the induction of a 15,000-strong force to provide round-the-clock surveillance.
Read full article:
China’s ‘soft’ imperialism: Will Pakistan gain nothing from CPEC?