Traders as well as common people have complained that the government has not provided any sort of relief to common man in the budget. In a survey carried out by Business Recorder here on Tuesday they said that the government has not taken serious steps for enhancing employment opportunities and reducing inflationary pressures.
People from different walks of life including traders, labourers and private sector employees said that new budget has brought no relief for them and it would increase their woes.
The budget document reveals the government's objective to bring inflation down to 9.5 percent during the fiscal year of 2011-12, but the reverse may well happen as exemptions provided under the fifth and sixth schedule on a number of items like bricks, sugar etc have been withdrawn which would make these items more costly, said Mehfooz Elahi President Islamabad Chamber of Commerce and Industry.
Waseem Khan, a shopkeeper, said that the government has brought a number of items under sales tax regime from June 4, whereas exemption of 2.5 percent special excise duty (SED) on a large number of items would be effective from July 1, 2011. This clearly shows that the revenue measures have been enforced earlier from June 4, but people would have to wait till July 1, 2011 for availing relief in taxes.
Muhammad Shafi a private sector employee said that budget has nothing for working class especially for those working in the private sector as it is not mandatory for private entrepreneurs to increase the salaries of their workers in accordance with the public sector employees. He said that every year government increases the salaries of the government employees, but in private sector the situation is pathetic, adding that private sector has not even implemented the government announced minimum wage of Rs 7000 per month.
Ishfaq Ahmed a retired government servant said that if the government is serious in increasing employment opportunities in the country it should try to end electricity and gas crisis from the country. He also advised the government to expand National Internship Programme (NIP) for providing training to educated youth so that they could easily get jobs, President's Rozgar Scheme should also be expanded across the country, credit for self employment by National Bank of Pakistan, enhancement of residential facilities by construction of one million housing units, doubling of lady health workers to cover kachi abadis, ensuring the implementation of minimum wage Rs 7, 000 and establishment of National Vocational and Technical Education Commission (Navtech).
Kashif Shabir former President Rawalpindi Chamber of Commerce and Industry (RCCI) citing the annual plan 2011-12 said the government has set projected target of GDP growth at 4.2 percent for the year, but this may be difficult to achieve. "Our economy is projected to grow by 4.2 per cent in 2011-12, which is less than required growth rate of the economy to absorb the growing labour force and maintain the same level of unemployment," he said while referring to the report.
Kasif said that the government has reduced subsidies from Rs 395 billion to Rs 166 billion, which would increase the burden on poor people. He said that the inflation would remain around 13 percent in the upcoming fiscal year against the government set target of 9.5 percent. Once again government has not enforced income tax on the agriculture sector, only last year big farmers have earned Rs 50 billion as the price of sugarcane and cotton increased manifold in domestic as well as in international market.
The government should further decrease the sales tax rate and it should bring other sectors into the tax net for revenue generation as existing taxpayers have been overburdened with taxes. Last year the government announced austerity measures but it remained only an announcement, Kashif maintained. He said that as per a recent World Bank report over 40 percent Pakistanis are living below the poverty line and the government has done nothing for them, adding that only Benazir Income Support Programme (BISP) could not serve the poor masses.
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