The Constitution (Amendment) Bill, 2011, was introduced in the Senate on Monday to impose tax on agricultural income. A resolution was also presented in the Upper House of the Parliament in which it was recommended that the loans written off by the government departments, banks and financial institutions so far may be recovered immediately.
Treasury as well as opposition members also demanded of the government to present the list of those people in the House who got written off their loans of billion of rupees. Colonel (Retd) Syed Tahir Hussain Mushadi of MQM moved the Bill to impose tax on agriculture sector which was referred to concerned standing committee of the House for further deliberation.
While introducing the Bill, Mushadi said that the poor people and others sectors were facing the burden of taxes while the big agriculturalists and feudals earning billion of rupees but they are not in the tax net. "If we introduce this tax, we will not need foreign aid to run the country. The government should equally treat every one and should not exempt some segments from tax net," he said.
Leader of House in the Senate, Syed Nayyer Hussain Bokhari did not oppose the Bill. He however, said that agriculture tax comes under the domain of the provinces and they should legislate in this regard. Chairman Senate Farooq H.Naek referred the Bill to concerned standing Committee of the House to further discuss it.
The statement and objects of the Bill, said that for the generation of revenue the government should impose a tax on agricultural income immediately. This measure will generate over Rupees two hundred billion annually. Income tax may be imposed on all agricultural income over Rupees six hundred thousand annually, in order to broaden the tax base. The rich and powerful landed gentry shall be brought into the tax net. All classes of citizens must be treated equally both rural and urban. This Bill is designed to achieve the aforesaid object.
Dr Khalid Mehmood Soomro of JUI-F while moving resolution about written-off loans said that the government should get back loans of billions of rupees from big fish who have got them written off. He said that the government puts behind the bars the poor who could not return small loans. But, the government does not take any action against the big fish who have got written off their loans of billions of rupees.
Colonel (Retd) Syed Tahir Husain Mushadi of MQM supported Dr Soomro and said that the people of Pakistan had also demanded to expose the name of those people whose loans were written off in billions of rupees. He said that the House should be provided with the list of these people. Zahid Hamid of Awami National Party (ANP) also supported the resolution and said that the names of those people should be provided to the House who gulped of billion of rupees.
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