The Multan Chamber of Commerce and Industry (MCCI) has termed the budget as business-friendly in the current investment climate and with the hope that all the lacunae in the budget proposals would be discussed with the Finance Minister. Briefing media men about the budget for fiscal year 2011-12, MCCI President Shahid Naseem Khokhar said that they were very optimistic about the proposal to cut federal excise duty on cement sector.
"Despite resource constraint the government has given us a fair budget, but again we need to review and propose more to the government to get out of the economic crisis," he said. "The present budget is friendly, but not in line with our expectations," he said, adding that the reduction in general sales tax (GST), special excise duty and reduction in regulatory duty should be a good sign for the revival of economy.
Referring to the proposal of the government to do away with double taxation, the MCCI president said that it would help promote and encourage industrialisation in the country and get the problem of unemployment resolved. MCCI members were also of the opinion that there was need to broaden the tax net by including agricultural income in tax net. They opined about cut in government borrowing from the central bank and that all the income generating units and persons were needed to be equitably taxed as per their capacity. "There seems to be a sense of positive element and path to bring the economic situation to stability," Khokhar observed.
Exporters termed the budget 2011-12 as anti-industry and government-friendly, which "has nothing for the country's ailing export-oriented industry" Jalaluddin Roomi, a former Punjab minister for industries and chairman of All Pakistan Bedsheet & Upholstry Manufacturers Association (APBUMA) said that the budget for 2011-12 is balanced and industry-oriented, which would "help in strengthening" the economy of the country.
He termed the budget as business-friendly in the current investment climate and with a hope that all lacunae in the budget proposals would be discussed in the parliament. He welcomed reduction of GST percentage from 17 to 16 percent and termination of special excise duty.
He hailed increase in taxable income from Rs 300,00 to Rs 350,000, but added that this amount should have been increased to Rs 500,000. He said special package should have been presented in the budget for revival of industry in southern Punjab. He said measures for overcoming the deficit should have also been announced. He said an amount of Rs 2 billion reserved for industrial growth was meagre as the private sector was providing around 48 percent jobs in the country. He said the government should also have announced measures to overcome the power load shedding.
He said the funds reserved for PSDP were around Rs 300 billion, but this amount should not be reduced as was done in the outgoing fiscal when a cut of Rs 100 billion was made on PDSP. A leader of value-added Textile Forum (VTF), Muhammad Aasim Shah, said that announcement of the budget by Finance Minister Abdul Hafeez Sheikh was just a formality to fulfil the constitutional requirement. "The opposition lodged noisy protest during budget session.
"When the government failed to satisfy the members of National Assembly, then how it can be industry and trade-friendly," he said. "We believe the government will announce several mini budgets during the whole year to meet its targets, and these mini budgets will have more taxes," Aasim added.
Ahsan Shah, Chairman of Multan Dry Port Trust, said that there was no incentive and relief for the country's ailing trade and industry. "The budget is like a sugar-coated poison which will definitely create more difficulties for the industry and exporters. The exports are expected to decline owing to massive decline in cotton prices, but there is no announcement for the country's largest sector," he added.
He criticised the government for its flawed policies. He said that the tax-to-GDP ratio of the country was still nine percent, which should have been doubled. "Everybody should be brought under the tax net at any cost, otherwise the government will face heavy fiscal deficit, which will compel it to more borrowing from local and foreign financial institutions," he added.
Javaid Bilwani also criticised the budget and said that for the first time in the history of the country, the minister's budget speech concluded within 20 mints. He said at present the country is facing severer energy crisis and no concrete measures were announced to overcome the crisis.
Tehrik-i-Insaf Pakistan's central Vice President Ijaz Ahmed, District President IJaz Janjua, Dr Robina Akhtar rejected the federal budget 2011-12 describing it anti-masses and termed it a budget of feudals, waderas, and capitalists. PML-N leaders Allah Nawaz Khan Durrani, Athar Mumtaz, and Zafar Qadri said that PML-N has laid down the basis for a strong reaction against bad governance by staging a protest during the budget session.
Speaking to the media outside parliament after the budget session, They said that the way the government was handling the affairs of governance, it had pushed the opposition to register their reaction against the budget which, they said, was totally contrary to the ground realities of the country. They said that the government had pushed the opposition to such a stage that it was left with no option but to counter the government with force, which was bent upon destroying the entire country.