Sindh Assembly on Thursday passed 'Sindh Finance Bill 2019' into law amid opposition's protest against it. However, Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah, who also holds portfolio of Sindh Finance Minister, assured the legislature that the government would make sure that rise in taxation should not hurt the poor.
However, he also said that Sindh government was ready to scale back the tax rates once the federal government pays outstanding Rs 128 billion to the province. He said should the Centre pay it next month [then] a special session would be called to reduce the tax rates. He said that the government has retained the taxes of the last fiscal year.
Sindh Excise and Taxation Minister Mukesh Kumar Chawla told the house that the government has the right to impose taxes through Finance Bill. He said that the legislation allows increasing the duty to Rs 150,000 on luxury vehicles of 3000CC. He said that the federal government has also scaled up the tax on such luxury vehicles. The opposition leader Firdous Shamim Naqvi who hails from PTI said that the Sindh government had piled up taxes on citizens without improving Karachi's infrastructure.
"These taxes may have been justified if better services would have been provided to citizens," he said, adding that the government should act responsibly and place taxes on the rich and disburden the poor from the financial obligations. MQM's Muhammad Hussain said that the government has increased Rs 25 billion in professional tax heads and Rs 3 billion in stamp duty. He said the cities were already facing with dearth of entertainment opportunities but the government also mounted to tax to Rs 200 million. "Raise in tax will affect the poor," he said, adding that the sales tax on services has been increased by Rs 25 billion and the public would be made to pay it.
He said MQM rejects the finance bill while calling the budget not tax-free. He said that the new fiscal year budget also slapped Karachi with taxes. The Finance Bill increases tax on 150CC motorcycles while conditioner and non-conditioner commercial vehicles will pay the duty as per seat. Property tax rate has also been increased for the welfare or charity organisations, online taxi services and online businesses and marketing, mining companies, insurance agents and training centres have been tagged with 5 percent sales tax. Solid waste management, cold storages and power transmission services will pay 13 percent sales tax whereas the indoor games centres 10 percent ST. However, the Finance Bill allows Sindh government to tax mosques, temples, churches and other religious places. The house will now meet on Friday .
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