ISLA MABAD - The Islamabad Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ICCI) Wednesday rejected the governments move of imposition of taxes including 15 per cent flood surcharge and increase and special excise duty. The business community of Pakistan is striving hard to survive in these very challenging and difficult times due to the poor economic policies of the government and now the levying of 15 percent flood relief surcharge further burdens to the business community and salaried people, President ICCI, Mahfooz Elahi said and added that in the current difficult circumstances business community was running the wheel of the economy but imposition of exorbitant Flood Relief Tax and 2.5 percent Federal excise were unjustified. The business community has already been contributing great deal to help the flood affectees and are still providing support but forceful imposition of flood tax would increase the distrust on the government and gives impetus to the policy of milking the same cows, he opined. Elahi also said that the flood tax is the worst of its kind, imposing Flood Tax to cover the shortfall in revenues is inappropriate and unacceptable, where business people and working class are already burdened with heavy taxes. Government should reduce its non-development expenditures rather than imposing such unjustified taxes, which will have a disastrous impact on the already ailing economy, he maintained. President ICCI was of the view that tax department should device tax friendly policies instead of following the policy of unjustified and forceful implementation of taxes. Expressing his concern over flood tax imposition, Elahi urged the government to adopt pro-people policies and streamline the working of public sector enterprises and should take measures to broaden tax base, whereas not to overburden the people, who are already under an extreme stress because of high inflation and increase of electricity, gas, petroleum and food prices.