The government is proposing the following taxes in the Reformed General Sale Tax (RGST): a10 percent increase in the income tax whose income is more then Rs 300,000 per year, increase in special excise duty form 1 to 2 percent, 10 percent surcharges on tax payable on every imported consignment, 10 percent surcharge on withholding tax on commercial electricity consumers as well as 10 percent surcharges on all withholding tax transactions.
Majority of the people are already under the burden of hyper inflations and are facing great difficulties in paying the electricity, gas, water, telephone bills. The new taxes are like drone attacks on these innocent citizens. The government, instead of reducing non-development expenditures and adopting austerity measures, is getting ready to further tax those who are already paying the taxes.
The government is estimating to collect Rs 60 billion by these new taxes. I would like to know why the government is providing 300 billion rupees of budgetary support to state owned industries, corporations and organizations which are managed by unqualified, incompetent and corrupt persons. I have to ask the following questions in this regard:
Why the federal government is not reducing the number of ministers and closing down those ministries and departments which are redounded and handling those matters which are responsibility if the provinces? Why those who are in government and are declaring their earning form abroad are being exempted form income tax? Why the President of Pakistan on whose names taxes are collected is also exempted from the payment of income tax? Why the government is not reforming the tax system. Instead of having different taxes such as property tax, withholding tax, sales tax and excise duty, why is it not adopting a simple and direct tax method?
This method will also minimize the corruption. Its seems that the present government is not sincere in changing the status quo and is following the instruction of the IMF and World Bank who are providing loans for the luxuries life style of the ruling elite class.
S T HUSSAIN
Lahore
