Lasbela Chamber of Commerce and Industry's (LCCI), president Yakoob H. Karim has apprehended that the common man will suffer in the wake of taxes imposed on the essential items such as dairy products, filtered water. He also criticised the government for not taking concrete measures for the provision of clean drinking water and for the promotion of livestock and poultry sectors in the country.
He also stressed the need for rationalising the next fiscal year (2015-16) budget's proposals for providing relief to the common man in the spheres of education, health and transport as these sectors are on the verge of collapse due to bad governance, maladministration and inadequate funds. The LCCI chief, however, appreciated measures taken in the budget for agriculture, housing, construction, aviation, alternative energy and manufacturing sectors.
Moreover, some relief provided in the budget to textile sector and exporters by reducing Export Refinance Rate to 4.5 per cent are laudable steps, he added. He was of the view that the budget can neither be termed `investment-friendly' nor `pro-people' as no measures seems to have been taken for promoting industrial investment and creating employment opportunities.
He said that though the budget has proposed collection of taxes to the tune of about Rs 500 billion, no measures have been taken to broaden the tax net. Hailing the budget allocated for the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor's Balochistan project, the LCCI chief said that this step will help boost the economy of the province. He, however, regretted that no funds have been earmarked for the construction of Winder Dam and Hub Bypass projects.