HYDERABAD: President Hyderabad Chamber of Commerce and Industry (HCCI) Adeel Siddiqui responding to the federal budget 2022-2023, has said that only IMF has been pleased by the budget.

FBR tax target has been increased from last year’s target of Rs 6,500 billion to Rs 7,040 billion while Rs 12 billion has been allocated for the development of agriculture sector. He further said that AOP and individual tax exemption limit has been increased from Rs 4 lac to Rs 6 lac which is not enough while increase in withholding tax on property from one percent to two percent would increase price of houses whereas people in Pakistan are already deprived of houses. Besides this 2.5 million people are taxpayers and 1.5 million people are filing zero returns.

He said the federal budget 2022-23 will not benefit the common man. He said that there is a need to make food items cheaper while the minimum wage of the salaried class was not even mentioned in the budget. He said the government itself is hinting at 11.5 percent inflation and Rs 24 billion has been allocated for the health sector.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2022