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In Pakistan, information and IT sector is the fastest growing segment of Pakistan’s economy. It is a key driver for growth and employs millions of people directly and indirectly. This sector has been on a continuous rise and is contributing to the local markets. It is exporting services and products to various countries extracting an overall turnover of $3.3 billion at present.
The economic survey conducted for the year 2016-17 indicates that Pakistan’s IT exports have been estimated to have crossed over $2.8 billion annually. This is according to the estimates that are available from Pakistan’s Software Export Board (PSEB). The annual domestic revenue of the IT sector is soaring around $500 million. For the year at present, the total revenue of Pakistan’s IT industry is estimated to be around $3.3 billion with an impressive growth rate of about 97% in the IT remittances that has been reported over the last few years. This indicated that the IT and Telecom sectors are expanding and are creating new jobs such as e-commerce, e-business, e-banking, IT applications, e-health etc. as more and more businesses are utilizing the modern ICT technologies.
Penetration of broadband
The penetration of broadband internet is increasing in various sectors and according to the latest surveys. This penetration has increased from 3.7 million to 40.7 million. This has taken place mainly because of the 3G/4G technology. If this increased growth is realized by the government then it should focus towards reduction of taxes in order to provide maximum benefits for the economy of Pakistan.
Incentives given by government:
For the IT sector, government has planned following steps in order to aid the growth of the IT sector,
- For the venture capital funds, there is a seven year tax holiday
- Equity ownership allowed to foreign investors is 100%
- Repatriation of capital and dividends allowed is 100%
- Until June 2019 there is zero percent income tax
For providing opportunities for the upcoming entrepreneurs, the National Incubation Centers (CNIC) is being established in order to equip the local Pakistani industry with major facilities.
Via: Pro Pakistani
