Business

Senate committee rejects 1% increase in GST

The Senate's Standing Committee for Finance has rejected a one per cent increase in general sales tax (GST).

Express June 16, 2010

The Senate's Standing Committee for Finance has rejected a one per cent increase in general sales tax (GST).

Other recommendations proposed by the committee included reduction of foreign visits and number of delegation members on foreign tours.

The committee also proposed the running of all organisations under private-public partnerships. It suggested a reorganisation of WAPDA, PEPCO, PSM, PIA and Pakistan Railways.

The committee suggested an increase of 60 per cent in salaries of government employees on grade 1 to 16.

The committee members said that the minimum monthly wage of labourers should be raised up to Rs9,000.

For further proceedings, the Senate forwarded the proposals to the National Assembly.

COMMENTS (3)

Syed A. Mateen | 14 years ago | Reply The minimum wage of a labourer should be at least Rs.10,000 so that he should have minimum money to meet his end needs, otherwise crimes and rampant corruption will grow in the society. There should be a balance between the inflation and income. The government only considers its employees as the sufferers, as every body knows in the country that government servants are more corrupt people than people working in the private sector. Why the wages of people working in the private sector is not increased? Are they not citizens of Pakistan?

Meekal Ahmed | 14 years ago | Reply This is all very well but how are we going to "finance" this? The Senate should have been more credible and brave (and puts its money where its mouth is) and offered that cost increases or revenue losses implied by their recommendaions would be financed thought cuts in their salaries and by foregoing some of their perks. As far as I can tell, our worthy Senators are, without exception, well-heeled and well-off. Their Senate pay is pocket money. This, of course, they will not do. What does "reorganization" of public enterprises mean? This is a vague and vacuous word. All of the enterprises mentioned are seriously over-staffed. The one way to raise productivity and reduce costs in the short-term is to cut the labor force by 30-50%. That has to be the starting point. Of course the workers thus unemployed should be given fair severance packages as is the practice round the world. As in the case of the banking sector some years ago, the World Bank may be willing to finance the severance packages if it is part of a credible restructuring effort. Other financing can be found. Each enterprise should have a well-articulated three-year plan aimed at raising productivity on a sustainable basis, cutting costs and plugging leakages. Management should accept a pay freeze for the next three years. There used to be a Experts Advisory Cell which had a performance monitoring system for all public enterprises that was emulated by other countries. What has happened to the EAC and their monitoring model?

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