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RGST faces stiff opposition in Senate - 24 Nov 2010
Senate body delays report on RGST - 14 Nov 2010
All provinces were united on RGST: Gilani - 12 Nov 2010
RGST plan finds no takers
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Reformed GST: Senate okays proposals despite opposition
The recommendations on the RGST bill have been approved, bill passed to National Assembly for further consideration.
Senators continue to oppose the RGST bill.
ISLAMABAD:
Amid protests and uproar from both allies and opposition, the government on Friday managed to get the recommendations of the standing committee on proposed reformed General Sales Tax (GST) Bill passed by the Senate, forwarding them to the National Assembly for final approval. The Senate can only make recommendations to a monetary bill and is not empowered to approve or reject it.
In what seemed an act of political chicanery, the Pakistan Muslim League – Quaid (PML-Q), the biggest opposition party in the upper house, staged a walkout, paving the way for the passing of recommendations by the Senate through a voice count, despite opposition from the Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM), Jamiat Ulema-e-Islami (JUI) from the treasury and Pakistan Muslim League – Nawaz (PML-N) and Jamaat-e-Islmai (JI) from the opposition benches, along with other smaller political parties.
Senator Ahmed Ali of MQM, who heads the Senate standing committee on finance and economic affairs, presented two reports of the committee on the GST bill 2010 and the Finance (amendment) bill 2010, after initial reluctance. The committee made 15 recommendations relating to GST bill and four recommendations for the Finance (amendment) bill. The recommendations have been sent to the National Assembly for consideration and inclusion in the respective bills.
The committee has recommended that food items, stationery and medicines should be exempted from the sales tax and that flood tax should be imposed on taxpayers having annual income above Rs500,000, instead of every taxpayer.
Wasim Sajjad of PML-Q moved a note of proposal in the house for incorporation of some fresh recommendations and putting the bill to vote.
Senate chairman Farooq H Naek rejected the proposal, saying all parties were asked to make their recommendations within two days of tabling the bill on November 12, prompting a walkout from the house by PML-Q senators as others chanted slogans against the bill.
Amid the chaos, Naek put the motion for approval of recommendations before the house for a voice count and prorogued the House after declaring that the motion was passed. In case the MQM and JUI remain adamant in their opposition of the bill in the National Assembly, it will be a real challenge for the government to muster simple majority for the contentious piece of legislation.
With PML-N strongly opposing the bill, the government might have to rope in the ambivalent PML-Q to either support the bill or abstain from voting against it.
Published in The Express Tribune, November 27th, 2010.
Read the complete RGST bill here.
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Reader Comments (18)
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The Chairman is correct constitutionally.But Senate is a very high forum and represents the federation in lot of ways. Can the views of the Senate be brushed aside by majority of members of National Assembly who do not even pay Income Tax?!.
Levy tax, the nation needs fair,transparent and equitable taxation system.All incomes beyond a certain threshold have to pay tax,irrespective of the source
Read history; people can be pushed only to a certain degree. Recommend
No Pakistani except PPP leaders and Federal Finance Minister Abdul Hafeez Sheikh considers this so called RGST in favor of poor actually downtrodden Pakistani Nation. Chairman Senate who is supposed to be the custodian of the upper house, supposed to be fair with each and every member of Senate either in government or opposition has proved himself as biased and has ruled in favor of PPP disgracing his designation and using his power unfairly…!
So why to call him right..?? Infact I would suggest that the senators have to ask for his dismissal (if it could be carried out in the light of the constitution)….!Recommend
why Q league didnt participate????Recommend
any idea who voted for, whop voted against and how many wlaked out/ abstained.Recommend
i am i student of MBA just recomand to PPP Govt. Just they first go out of country and then drop Attom bombs on our Poor nation and ruled on State as they Wish. beacouse is better to die once not every day. Please do it Recommend
Now one knows why PML(Q) was kicked out by voters.They are power hungry..that is it..
Oh! the next news will be Ch Shujahat is Chair of Judicial commission.
what a sell out PML(Q) is….disgracefulRecommend
I just can not understand the option of walking out/ abstain in the upper house. It shows the lack of decision making power of members or a way to corruption in the form of horse trading. Where are advocates of demoractic government….where parties are openly bribed in the form of Chairmanships of IDC and ERRA. The ruling also exposed the so-called sympathizers of the poors. The only parties which took strong stand against this injustice is MQM/Jamat e Islami with few double stances of parties like PML(N), JUI(F). The only solution to this is Revolution!!Recommend
@MAD: Govt. didn’t allowed this RGST bill to be approved by Senate, and forwarded to National Assembly..!Recommend
Topi Drama by all parties going On here. I see no real opposition on RGST. None of them friend of the people of Pakistan. Recommend
Q league got lots of senators in house and they walked out, daaal mai kuch kala haiRecommend
Victory of the poor people of Pakistan, not because actually they are going to get real benefit from it, but before they were not getting any either—the only difference clipped to this approval is that rich wholesalers and retailers that were previously out of the indirect taxational net will now be in; thereby, creating equitability to some end. Recommend
@Fahad: No my brother, this time its drama, as you mentioned in your comment. PPP is trying to dismiss its government and to secure sympathy in future, as they did by killing their own leader Benazir Bhutto, and therefore they have found an issue which can do the task for them but this time the other parties are well organized and aware of their maneuver and won’t allow them to do so..!Recommend
260 billion gold mines going for a song, behind closed doors…….
Quietly, and below the media radar, some 20 top corporate bosses and lobbyists of two of the world’s largest gold mining groups have been meeting others in Islamabad throughout last week, pressing them to quickly hand over one of the world’s biggest gold and copper treasures found in Balochistan at Reko Diq, worth over $260 billion, to their companies, and for peanuts.
For More Details please find the link below;
http://www.voice.pk/?p=2220
Regards,
Fahad ZiaRecommend
The sad part is no one pays taxes in this country. No trader, no retailer, no landowner. Around 51% of the taxes are paid by manufacturing which constitutes only 19% of the economy. The traders of Liberty market lahore paid only 7 million rupees tax two years ago and they make millions if not billions. The brunt of the tax burden on the salaried class which pays for the everyone else. We have a begging bowl in one hand and want all the world to pay for our lifestyle but we call taxes anti people. Recommend
Q League walked out! There is a big question mark on this. Why??Recommend
According to the law, the Chairman of Senate Mr. Farooq H Naik is correct when he reminds all who are only doing point scoring by opposing this bill because they are only suppose to give their recommendations and it does not need any approval from these opportunists (Lotaaaas). The Financial Bill does not require any voting of plus or minus in the Senate, it only needs the recommendations and debate, nothing more and nothing less so dear friends do not fall in the trap of these otherwise unqualified senators. It will now depend on the legislators in National Assembly how things are bargained. RGST will go through even in the National Assembly, at present it is NheeeeeeeeeN but in the end Achaaaaaaaaa kr lo.Recommend
Civil disobedience is the best way to refusal the RPST law. Bulldoze the demands, and commands of a government. It is one form of civil resistance. Civil disobedience is one of the many ways people can rebelled against this unfair law and grand corruption. Recommend
Well we Pakistan’s are quiet apt in the art of civil disobedience. For the last few decades we do not pay taxes, we do not drive properly, we litter everything in this god gifted land which is all a type of civil disobedience. So Mr Azam we are already doing which you want us to do. Recommend