Imran Khan addressing a press conference. PHOTO: EXPRESS
“The PML-N’s budget favours the rich,” Imran told a news conference at his Bani Gala residence. The PTI leader said the poor had been “unnecessarily taxed” and would become poorer as a result. He underlined the need to broaden the tax net and referred to a reported list of 3.2 million people, complied by National Database Registration Authority (NADRA), who were not paying taxes.
“Finance Minister Ishaq Dar has now denied the existence of any such list,” he added.
He said the tax net cannot be broadened unless reforms are introduced in the Federal Board of Revenue and it is made an autonomous body “like the police in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P), which have not spared even a sitting provincial minister [Ali Amin Gandapur].”
Imran suggested that tax relief be provided to the masses by reducing general sales tax from the existing 17 per cent to 12.5 per cent, through withdrawal of Gas Infrastructure Development Cess (GIDC) and reduction of corporate tax rate from 35 per cent to 20 per cent in the next three years for the creation of new jobs.
He said Rs849 billion in relief could be given to the masses in this way.
“The GST is to be given by everyone – the rich and poor alike. If you look at western countries, their governments take money from the rich and spend it on welfare, but in case of Pakistan it is the other way around,” he said.
Referring to the PTI’s shadow budget, he said reduction in diesel prices up to Rs18 and petrol prices up to Rs6 will pass on relief of Rs55 billion to common people . Similarly, masses would get Rs145 billion relief through withdrawal of the GIDC which, according to him, is an anti-people tax levied recently by the government with the connivance of Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP).
The PTI chief said there are several mini-budgets announced during the year after the main budget. “The government has not met any of its major targets,” he said.
He suggested that there should have been an increase of 15% in salaries of government officers instead of 7.5%. Regarding the K-P budget, where his party is in power, Imran said: “In the K-P, we have raised the minimum wage to Rs15,000 instead of Rs13,000 as proposed by the government.”
Talking about the SROs, he said the PTI will end this practice, adding that the PML-N government had given exemptions of as much as Rs630 billion [through SROs] to the privileged class.
“The government has not taken any step to bring back the colossal Rs230 billion stashed in banks outside the country. During the last three months Rs38 billion has been shifted to Dubai while the total amount taken abroad in last three years is $4.3 billion. There is no effort to check on Pakistani money going abroad,” he added.
Imran Khan laid stress on providing relief to the agriculture sector in particular and said instead of doling out money on projects like Metro Bus, farmers should be given preference.
Published in The Express Tribune, June 7th, 2015.
The public gathering also saw a scuffle between the PTI workers as it neared conclusion.
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