JI chief terms existing taxation system a 'total failure'

While criticizing the federal budget, Emir Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) Senator Sirajul Haq has said that the present taxation system is a total failure and therefore it is the need of the hour to switch over to the Islamic system of Zakat and Usher.
He said that at present, only 900,000 Pakistanis are paying taxes but under the system of Zakat and Usher, the number of tax payers would rise to ninety million as a result the country's financial crisis would resolve in a short term.
Talking to the media persons here on Wednesday, he said that the federal budget has been prepared without consulting the provinces and it is also against the spirit of the National Finance Commission Award. He said the amnesty scheme announced by the government is a violation of the 18th constitutional amendment.
He said that the new federal budget has also been prepared for the ruling elite and there is nothing in it for the public good. He proposed abolition of the indirect taxation and adoption of direct taxation to cut down the burden on the general public.
Sirajul Haq noted that the present government has obtained loan amounting to Rs 5,000 during the last five years which is a record and due to which, coming generations would be under heavy debt. He said that in the new budget, more funds have been allocated for administrative purposes which would create funds shortage in every sector.
The JI chief said that in fact, there has been no economic system in the country so far. He said the documentation of the economy has not been completed so far and the government remains in the darkness.
Haq said that the budget included Rs 2,221 billion for payment of interest which is a violation of the Constitution based on Shariah, as Islam forbids riba (interest) .
He said that only Rs 37 billion have been allocated for education and Rs 25 billion for health which are making a mockery of the government's claims of universal education and free health facility.
He said that 65 percent of the people live in rural areas and the budget does not include any strategy for rural development to discourage the migration of the rural people to the cities.
He said no special package has been announced for Karachi, Balochistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
He said Karachi Saaf Pani project had been started in 2000 but has not been completed yet. He said that Karachi requires 2300 cusecs of water daily but it is getting only 600 cusecs. He said that at least Rs 500 billion should have been allocated for Karachi.