Federal Overseas Pakistanis Minister Dr Farooq Sattar has said for sustainable growth, the government will have to announce a welfare budget by cutting defence expenditures.
MQM’s parliamentary leader was speaking at the Lahore Chamber of Commerce and Industry on Wednesday.
LCCI President Irfan Qaiser Sheikh, Senior Vice President Kashif Younis Meher, Vice President Saeeda Nazar, former presidents Iftikhar Ali Malik, Mian Anjum Nisar and Mian Muzaffar Ali were also present on the occasion.
Dr Farooq Sattar said the country is currently facing multiple challenges and that the economic crisis is on the top of this list.
Therefore, the government will have to come up with out-of-box solutions otherwise the survival of the country is at stake.
He stated that not only was economic recovery direly needed, but also measures needed to make it sustainable for years to come.
“We will have to bring down the cost of doing business for making Pakistani goods competitive in the global market where they have lost their rightful place,” he added.
He added that providing relief to the common man is the need of the hour and it was only possible if the common man was made a part of the budget-making process. He suggested an increase of Rs 400 billion in direct taxes to deal with the challenges of fiscal deficit.
Dr Sattar said they have proposed a reduction of 10 percent in the defence budget and a sizeable cut in civil expenditure to overcome the prevailing economic challenges.
The additional collection of Rs 400 billion included Rs 100 billion through agricultural income tax, Rs 50 billion through Afghan transit trade, while dealing with under-invoicing and smuggling will provide Rs 50 billion. Another Rs50 billion will also be raised through tax on agricultural trading.
Improvement in monitoring, broadening the tax base and elimination of tax evasion due to corruption will generate another Rs 200 billion.
“Direct taxes are proposed to be increased from the existing 32 percent to 45 percent and indirect taxes were proposed to be brought down from 68 percent to 55 percent in the next fiscal year,” he said.
He also proposed the abolition of the petroleum levy, besides the allocation of Rs 250 billion in subsidies for the energy sector to resolve the problem of inter-circular debt and Rs 150 billion in subsidies for food and fertiliser support to help revive the agricultural sector.
