President Pakistan Businessmen and Intellectuals Forum Mian Zahid Hussain has said downward spiral has affected all the sectors therefore all of them, including the small and medium enterprises, deserve a stimulus package.
He said that small and medium businesses should be given a package, their utility bills should be deferred for three months or received in twelve installments or the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) should provide interest-free loans for the purpose.
Revenue collection may not surpass Rs3500 billion against the initial target of Rs5500 billion as pre-pandemic estimates suggested a fall of Rs700 billion which will jump substantially after the emergency, he said.
Mian Zahid Hussain said that now the revenue target has been revised to Rs3,908 billion which is unachievable at best which has raised fears regarding another mini-budget or harsh measures.
He said that the government has pinned high hopes on labour-intensive construction industry and the package has been designed with the consultation of the private sector having better exposure to the ground realities.
He noted that the interests of poor and middle-income group has been catered to in the package to some extent, and builders, as well as buyers, have been given amnesty but sellers have been ignored.
He said that the government should seek the guidance of the business community so that success should be ensured as any delay is not in the national interest.
Economic and financial analyst Ateeq-ur-Rehman has urged the government and the SBP to work out a refinance scheme for payment of wages and salaries to the workers and employees of small business concerns by offering incentives to entities disbursing expenses in this account from Rs200,000 to Rs1.5 million per month.
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