Business leaders, parliamentarian, politicians, economists and intellectual across the spectrum have described the 2011-2012 Federal Budget as retrogressive, unimaginative and directionless and said it would increase budget deficit, inflation, unemployment, social and economic instability and spread despondency.
They called for a unanimously approved national economic agenda by all political parties, industrialists and business and forming communities and services sector to save the country from the economic melt down and socio-economic anarchy.
They were speaking at a roundtable conference organised by the Thinkers Forum of Pakistan here on Thursday to discuss the Fy 2011-2012 budget and the present economic environment of the country. Business leaders, Parliamentarians and economists from across the country addressed the roundtable conference.
The conference was addressed by former Foreign Minister and prominent agronomist Shah Mahmood Qureshi (PPP), Abdul Rashid Godil, MNA, MQM, Begum Tahira Asif, MNA Sardar Mansoor Hyat Tummon former MNA former Minister of state for defence Colonel (r) Sarwar Cheema, former speaker National Assembly Chaudhry Ameer Hussain, former Federal Minister Ejazul Haque, former finance minister Punjab Husnain Dreshak, business leader Qaisar Ahmad Sheikh, Muhammad Saeed Shafiq, president KCCI, Anjum Nisar, Mian Nisar and other prominent industrialists.
The star speaker at the round table conference Shah Mahmood Qureshi said the FY 2011-12 budget was prepared in Dubai at the dictate of the IMF to reduce budget deficit at 4 percent and remove subsidies. The budget contained nothing for the poor to contain the food and oil prices inflation. He said the government would surely fail to cut the fiscal deficit that would remain 5.7 percent of GDP, instead government as usual would cut the allocations of the public sector development programme or print currency notes. Qureshi said the government has set unachievable fiscal targets and would never be able to achieve the revenue collection of Rs 1950 billion and growth of 4 percent. Refering to the food inflation during past three years, he said sugar prices have risen by 152%, cooking oil by 85 %, beef by 86 %, mutton by 85 % flour by 344 %, rice by 57 %, and grams by 122 %.
Qureshi who is also a prominent grower and agronomist said that the government has imposed sales tax on factors of agricultural commodities such as tractors, agriculture machinery, fertilisers, pesticides etc which would put an additional burden of Rs 44 billion on the farmers. He said this would further impede the agriculture growth and accelerate the food inflation in the country.
Qureshi said he believes all incomes including the agriculture income should be taxed regardless the source of the income. He stressed that the country needs honest and visionary leadership. Former President, KCCI and MNA, Qaiser Ahmad Sheikh who organised the round table conference said Pakistan's GDP growth and population growth is the same, therefore GDP growth zero percent.