Not in my lifetime

Parents of school-going children should prepare themselves for another burden very soon in addition to what they have just endured at the beginning of the new academic year; the ever-increasing prices of books and uniforms, as well as school and transport fees.

The implementation of the much-hyped and much-debated Value Added Tax (VAT) has been delayed till October 1 and this only means that parents will see a substantial rise in their household and school expenditures in the next few months.

Do you think the schools and transporters and the publishers will not pass the VAT on to parents? Of course they will and for that they have already made announcements several times in advance. They have already started preparing the ground since the transporters do noora kushti every time before fares are increased.

In fact, consumers in Pakistan are pretty much powerless when it comes to safeguarding their rights and this means that when VAT is implemented they will have no choice but to pay it because all of the burden will be passed on to them.

For its part, the All-Pakistan Private Schools Management Association (APPSMA) has announced that it will launch a movement against VAT as it is threatening to cast a shadow on the future of students of more than 180,000 private schools. But we as parents know what that really means. It means that it is only a matter of time before we will be asked to pay the tax.

That’s the story for most people in this Land of the Pure. Those who already pay taxes are made to pay yet more in tax. And those who don’t pay any tax or avoid taxes get away without paying anything.

It will be a long time coming before we are to see a budget which actually makes life easier for the average Pakistani family. It doesn’t seem like a possibility, though, in my lifetime.

Published in the Express Tribune, June 13^th, 2010.