Business group leader says people no longer believe that politicians can be trusted

KARACHI: Mian Zahid Hussain, Chairman of the FPCCI Advisory Board and National Business Group Pakistan and President of the Pakistan Businessmen and Intellectuals Forum, said that the recent federal budget is causing various sections to protest and it is driving the country towards deindustrialisation.

He said that the people have lost trust in politicians’ promises, including that of the finance minister.

Mian Zahid Hussain said that the gap between the people and the government is widening, which needs to be bridged. He said that continued load-shedding of electricity is adding to people’s woes.

He said that such a budget has never been presented in the history of the country in which milk for infants has also been made expensive.

Thousands of items now face additional customs duty, regulatory duty, withholding tax, and sales tax, which will significantly raise business costs and inflation.

He pointed out that by eliminating the fixed tax regime and imposing sales tax on their local supply, the FBR has left the exporters, who bring $ 30 billion into the country annually, at their mercy.

In some cases, there has been ruthless discrimination between government employees and general masses which will never be accepted.

He observed that in these circumstances, the finance minister has said that whenever the economy improves, the income tax on the salaried class will be withdrawn, but the increasing government expenditure can never help improve the economy.

According to Mian Zahid Hussain, the people’s income has been steadily declining for several years, while taxes continue to rise, leading to a decrease in their disposable income. As a result, millions of people are struggling to meet their basic needs, including food.

Electricity rates are higher than in developed countries, where laborers earn handsome salaries, he informed.

According to Mian Zahid Hussain, reforming the electricity sector could have saved 1200 billion rupees, and privatizing failing government institutions could have saved another 1200 billion rupees.

Despite the 62 lakh people living in erstwhile FATA and PATA, influential people are importing tax exempted raw material and other items in excess quantity resulting in problem for industries located in other parts of the country. Rs 500 billion have been set aside for development schemes of assembly members which should not be earmarked given the situation of the country and a budget deficit of Rs 8000 billion rupees.

This year, the government will pay interest on loans amounting to 9 thousand billion rupees, while the same interest will increase to 10 thousand billion rupees next year which will be collected from masses through taxes. Given these circumstances, it would have been more beneficial if the politicians were denied five hundred billion rupees.

Mian Zahid Hussain also stated that oil marketing companies now enjoy exemptions rather than a zero rating, and the elimination of their tax input adjustment has left them vulnerable to various issues.

He warned that maintaining the budget in its current form will increase economic instability in the country, making even government supporters unable to defend it.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2024