Pakistan

Next year’s budget

June 09, 2010

KARACHI: This is with reference to Marvi Memon’s piece of June 9 titled ‘A critical look at the budget for 2010-11’ (June 9).

The fact of the matter is that it is the elite and the evil corporations that fund the bulk of the budget with their taxes. And it is their taxes which pay for the salaries of MNAs such as Ms Memon. As for subsidies, we need to understand that these are done for political purposes and they are economically inefficient in any case.

This means that their costs are borne by somebody – usually taxpayers – and if the subsidies are not ended today they will have to be ended tomorrow. In any case, if one looks at it, the rich consume more electricity so the withdrawal of subsidy on power is likely to hit them more.

Published in the Express Tribune, June 10th, 2010.

COMMENTS (1)

Syed Nadir El Edroos | 14 years ago | Reply Corporations are offered several exemptions, so the incidence of taxation on them is much lower, as compared to an SME. As for the elite's who pay taxes, salaried classes perhaps, but what of the taxes they dodge on income earned abroad, capital gains tax from investments in property or the stock market? As for rich people being hit hardest as they use more electricity, well yes, they use more electricity, but their bills are a smaller proportion of their income and they have access to alternatives such as generators.

Replying to X