Karachi, Pakistan: As Pakistan’s economy continues to struggle, heavy Burden of taxation has emerged as a critical measure for the government to sustain its finances. This move, however, is severely impacting small and medium-sized business owners, particularly in the tech and mobile peripheral market.

The latest taxation wave has hit the mobile market hard, leading to a significant spike in prices for tech-related peripherals. This increase is exacerbating the financial woes of small and medium-sized mobile dealers.

Khurram, a small mobile dealer from Karachi, highlights the drastic changes in prices within days, creating substantial challenges for his business. “The investments we had made are now useless as people cannot afford high-priced phones. We demand that the taxes be revoked. The taxes on our limited sales exceed our capacity to pay. If we pay everything to the government, what is left for us?” Khurram questions.

Basat Ali, another dealer, shares his frustrations, pointing out a phone that was PKR 1600 a few days ago and is now over PKR 2200. “Who will purchase it now? Our profit margins are close to zero as most of it goes to the government. Mid-range phones that were around PKR 22000 now cost approximately PKR 27000,” he explains.

The already low sales of these phones have dipped further, with people refraining from purchasing tech products, severely damaging the business. “What can we do? The administration will not listen to us. This has been a continuous pattern from several previous governments. The only option is for the government to revoke the recently imposed taxes so that we can survive”.

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