KARACHI, June 17: The All Pakistan Newspapers Society has expressed anguish at the proposed imposition of central excise duty on newspaper advertisements, says a press release.
An emergency meeting of the society’s executive committee held here on Thursday discussed the issue and adopted a resolution saying that the APNS viewed this repressive measure as being aimed at weakening the financial autonomy of an independent press and being essentially inimical to the freedom of expression and the freedom of the press enshrined in article 19 of the Constitution.
The members recalled that similar measures were proposed by the bureaucracy in 1996 to create a rift between the democratically elected government and the national press. They wished to alert the prime minister and his cabinet members that any confrontation between the government and the press could prove detrimental to the survival of democratic institutions.
The committee also recalled that Finance Minister Ishaq Dar in his budget speech on June 12 had stated that “historically the world over the excises are used to reduce conspicuous consumption.” He then proceeded to establish a rationale whereby a hike in excise duty on cigarettes on grounds of health hazard.
The resolution said: “We would respectfully draw the attention of the federal finance minister that however well-intentioned his objectives are, with the imposition of excise duties on articles of conspicuous consumption, the decision to extend this to the national press is most unwelcome and incautious. He must ask himself whether the decision to lump newspapers with luxury items constitute, ‘a reasonable restriction’ on the freedom of the press and freedom of expression as envisaged in the Constitution, which he, upon taking oath of office, has sworn to defend.”
The members further stated that the removal of anomaly proposed by the CBR to the finance minister to tax the print media advertising in order to bring about uniformity with state-controlled monopolies of radio and television was also not in order. The government collects millions worth of license fees on television and radio and provides subsidy to them whereas newspapers and periodicals heavily subsidize government and public sector advertising by providing substantially concessional tariff. Is the ‘uniformity’ the government is seeking in this respect akin to reducing the national press to the level of a state monopoly?
The finance minister would be well advised to ponder this!
The members formed an action committee, headed by the APNS president, and directed it to approach the information minister, the finance minister as well as the prime minister without further delay. The committee is to report to the executive within seven days the press release said.
Source: Dawn
Date:6/18/1999
