AIRLINK 180.36 Increased By ▲ 6.57 (3.78%)
BOP 11.17 Decreased By ▼ -0.19 (-1.67%)
CNERGY 8.53 Decreased By ▼ -0.11 (-1.27%)
CPHL 100.41 Decreased By ▼ -1.23 (-1.21%)
FCCL 45.96 Decreased By ▼ -0.98 (-2.09%)
FFL 15.81 Increased By ▲ 0.42 (2.73%)
FLYNG 27.89 Increased By ▲ 0.10 (0.36%)
HUBC 142.47 Decreased By ▼ -1.28 (-0.89%)
HUMNL 13.01 Increased By ▲ 0.02 (0.15%)
KEL 4.52 No Change ▼ 0.00 (0%)
KOSM 5.84 Increased By ▲ 0.08 (1.39%)
MLCF 61.90 Decreased By ▼ -0.43 (-0.69%)
OGDC 214.32 Increased By ▲ 2.30 (1.08%)
PACE 5.92 Increased By ▲ 0.45 (8.23%)
PAEL 46.83 Decreased By ▼ -0.24 (-0.51%)
PIAHCLA 17.84 Decreased By ▼ -0.24 (-1.33%)
PIBTL 10.62 Decreased By ▼ -0.24 (-2.21%)
POWER 12.17 Decreased By ▼ -0.09 (-0.73%)
PPL 172.71 Increased By ▲ 1.43 (0.83%)
PRL 36.02 Increased By ▲ 0.14 (0.39%)
PTC 23.26 Decreased By ▼ -0.10 (-0.43%)
SEARL 96.06 Decreased By ▼ -0.90 (-0.93%)
SSGC 41.34 Decreased By ▼ -0.37 (-0.89%)
SYM 14.44 Increased By ▲ 0.29 (2.05%)
TELE 7.38 Increased By ▲ 0.28 (3.94%)
TPLP 10.08 Increased By ▲ 0.12 (1.2%)
TRG 67.90 Increased By ▲ 4.01 (6.28%)
WAVESAPP 10.00 Decreased By ▼ -0.02 (-0.2%)
WTL 1.34 Increased By ▲ 0.01 (0.75%)
YOUW 3.81 Increased By ▲ 0.09 (2.42%)
BR100 12,481 Increased By 33.6 (0.27%)
BR30 38,008 Increased By 88.3 (0.23%)
KSE100 116,776 Increased By 385.5 (0.33%)
KSE30 35,849 Increased By 153 (0.43%)

KARACHI: The federal budget 2024-25 has drawn sharp criticism from the business community, that termed it an ‘IMF-friendly’ and not a business-unfriendly budget.

Speaking at a press conference after the federal finance minister’s budget 2024-25 at the Karachi Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KCCI) on Wednesday, Zubair Motiwala, Chairman of the BMG Group, expressed grave concerns over the proposed 38% increase in the FBR’s revenue target to a staggering Rs. 12 trillion.

“The imposition of over Rs. 3500 billion new taxes will significantly increase industrial costs, inevitably leading to the harassment from the FBR as they struggle to meet their unrealistic collection targets,” Motiwala cautioned.

While the finance minister signalled intent to rationalise power tariffs, the absence of measures to address soaring gas prices has emerged as another source of concern for the industry, Motiwala said, bluntly labelling the budget as “trader unfriendly.”

Additionally, the business leader criticised the government’s decision to allocate Rs. 79 billion to the IT sector instead of improving the tax structure to facilitate the inflow of foreign exchange.

In a move that could potentially hamper exports, the budget has included the export sector in the normal tax regime, departing from the previous final tax regime. “Had the government supported export-oriented sectors, the export target for 2024-25 could have been surpassed with ease under governmental support,” Motiwala asserted.

The dissenting voices echoed throughout the business community, with Iftikhar Ahmad Sheikh, KCCI, declaring the budget “tough and business unfriendly.”

Former KCCI president Haroon Farooqui went a step further, branding it a “business killer budget” that serves the interests of the IMF rather than the general public.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2024

Comments

Comments are closed.