Punjab govt imposes hefty tax on imported cars

• Opposition criticises tax on empty plots, decries bill as ‘economic murder of the poor’ as Punjab Assembly passes Finance Bill 2016-17
• Finance minister defends new tax, says taxation in Punjab is not regressive

The Punjab Assembly passed the Finance Bill, 2016 presented by Finance Minister Dr Ayesha Ghaus Pasha on Monday as opposition lawmakers criticised the anti-business policies and the newly imposed taxes in the budget.

The Punjab government has imposed a tax of Rs 70,000 on imported cars with engine capacity exceeding 1300CC but not exceeding 1500 CC; Rs 150,000 on car with engine capacity exceeding 1500CC but not exceeding 2000CC; Rs 200,000 on car with engine capacity exceeding 2000CC but not exceeding 2500CC; and Rs 300,000 on car with engine capacity exceeding 2500CC.

The tax will not be applicable on cars owned by federal and provincial governments.

Opposition Leader Mian Mehmoodur Rasheed, who was initially not allowed to speak by Speaker Rana Muhammad Iqbal Khan, said that the opposition is being silenced during the debate on the Finance Bill in violation of the rules of the assembly. The opposition leader said that there are precedents in the legislative history of the assembly when leader of the opposition spoke immediately after the presentation of the finance bill.

Rasheed was allowed to speak after a brief discussion between the law minister and the secretary of the assembly.

‘ECONOMIC MURDER OF THE POOR’:

“The government is giving an impression that it has not imposed any tax in this budget but the ground reality is different,” Rasheed said and added that the government has imposed a new tax on the empty plots. He was of the view that a poor person cannot build his or her house immediately after buying the plot as they sometimes have to save up money before they can start building. He said the government is committing economic murder of the poor people by imposing property tax on empty plots. According to Rasheed, a new tax has been levied on marriage halls and even the motorcycle-rickshaws have not been spared from taxes.

“There is a need to impose taxes on luxury vehicles but the government has levied taxes on the poor man’s transportation,” he said.

‘IT’S CALLED PROGRESS, GENTLEMEN’:

In her speech, Dr Ayesha Ghaus Pasha said that the government has tried to broaden the tax base by bringing the non-payers in the tax net. According to her, the opposition parties have failed to comprehend the budget and are criticising it without reason.

“I have been a researcher for a long time and can claim with confidence that the taxation in Punjab is not regressive in nature,” she said.

Talking about the tax on empty plots, she said that the government has introduced this tax to discourage the unproductive speculation of money and encourage its investment in some employment-generating venture.

Moreover, The Punjab Local Government (Fourth Amendment) Bill, 2016 was also passed in the assembly.

‘THE TAXES ARE… VERY TAXING’:

Parliamentary Leader of Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) Qazi Ahmad Saeed said that there are numerous new taxes in the budget and it seems that the government has even imposed taxes on the breathing of people.

“The PPP rejects the finance bill strongly as the budget is anti-poor,” Saeed said.

A lawmaker from Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Mian Aslam Iqbal said that the government has miserably failed to collect the already imposed taxes and now it has introduced new taxes.

“There is a need to improve the tax collection system instead of imposing new taxes,” he said. He further added that it is an old practice of the government that it introduces taxes on a business when it starts to flourish which is exactly what it has done with the property business.

“Will the government dare to apply the same criteria of taxation for the empty plots of the DHA [Defence Housing Authority],” he questioned.

He went on to say that the finance minister read only a written budget speech. She did not take any part in the preparation of the budget as the budget was prepared by the bureaucracy of the Finance Ministry.

The session has now been adjourned until 10 am Tuesday.