'No relief for traders and public'

Traders community while rejecting the federal budget 2004-05 has said that it would neither provide any relief to the traders community nor to the general public.
As far as the relief provided in electricity tariff is concerned, the traders termed it 'shameful and considerably below their expectations'.
Commenting on the budget, Chairman Qaumi Tajir Ittehad Pakistan, Shakih Mushtaq Ahmed said that the finance minister has wrongly claimed regarding reduction in poverty level in the country.
The government also failed in checking the price hike and people are committing suicides due to economic worries.
"The traders as well as general public was expecting visible relief in electricity tariff for the last six months and was disappointed after the budget. We are paying Rs 10 per unit for commercial power consumption and relief of just 25 paisas is a joke with the commercial consumers," he said.
Rejecting relief of turnover tax up to Rs 5 million he said that the government did not receive even a single penny on this account in the past despite extending relief.
FPCCI, 38 chambers of commerce and industry and traders' community of the country had resolved on payment of 0.75 percent turnover tax. As a result of negotiations during a meeting with the government, all the traders and industrialists bodies had reached an agreement over 0.75 percent turnover tax but prior to issuance of a notification, the government was changed, he maintained.
The finance minister in his budget speech claimed creation of hundred of thousands job opportunities but this claim is absolutely false and unrealistic. Shaukat also made similar claim regarding provision of job opportunities but it is not based on facts, Sh Mushtaq added. He also rejected the exemption of income tax up to Rs 100,000 and said that the traders' community has been demanding for exemption up to Rs 200,000. It is not possible to prepare a monthly budget of a medium family within an amount of Rs 16,000 keeping in view the price hike and high utility bills, he said.
As far as reduction in duty on complete built unit of cars, he said it would only facilitate the rich people. The government should curtail the budget of Prime Minister's House.
He also termed announcement of 15 percent dearness allowance for the government employees and 16 and 8 percent increase in pensions as insufficient.