ISLAMABAD: Criticising the budget for the fiscal year 2024-25 rolled out by the Shehbaz Sharif-led coalition government, the former governor of Sindh, Muhammad Zubair has said that both direct and indirect taxes have affected the salaried class majorly, pointing to unequal tax imposition, reported ARY News.
During an interview on ARY News’ “11th hour,” the former Sindh governor expressed disapproval of the federal government’s uneven taxation policies, pointing out that salaried persons have been impacted by both direct and indirect taxes.
“If everyone was taxed equally, no one would object,” Zubair said.
He emphasised that in addition to a tax, the new budget also imposes an extra fee on the salaried class.
In response to a query, he stated that the middle class and salaried classes, who have historically had distaste for the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) and Pakistan Peoples’ Party (PPP), are not fond of the current administration, ARY News reported.
In response to the concern over growing electricity costs, Zubair predicted a 20 per cent increase in electricity bill prices. “If a consumer has to pay a bill of PKR 100 today, it will be PKR 120 soon. People do not understand the reason behind the constant increase in bills,” he said, according to ARY News.
Zubair expressed opposition to the type of taxes levied, arguing that they are inefficient because, even with increased taxes, revenue stays the same.
This is the third budget for the current administration, which Zubair claims has failed to cut spending while raising taxes.
“Where are the tax reforms, where are the energy reforms, where are the issues of privatisation of institutions?” he questioned about the lack of reforms.
Zubair also took issue with how the government was managing the distribution businesses’ boards of directors, pointing out that the people chosen two years ago resulted in higher losses and that the government is now planning to replace those boards.
“Two years ago, they boasted about the merits of their appointments. Now, they’re [the current government] reversing those actions. Who is responsible for this?” he questioned.
The former governor characterised the government’s conduct as though they had stumbled onto governance by accident and accused them of making damaging judgements driven by political motivations.
In reviewing past budgets, Zubair pointed out that the public was burdened in the budget for 2022 with the assurance that things would improve within a year, a pledge that was repeated in the budget for 2023.
In a deep economic crisis, Pakistan’s parliament on Friday passed a tax-heavy finance bill for the upcoming fiscal year amid ongoing negotiations for a new International Monetary Fund (IMF) bailout. (ANI)
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