The Pakistan Economy Watch (PEW) on Sunday said that frequent upward revisions in the fuel and electricity prices and continued government borrowings indicate tax collectors incompetence. Government continues to revise energy prices upward on one pretext or the other to increase revenues after failure of the tax collection machinery to show any significant improvement.
Similarly, the ruling coalition has crossed all limits of borrowings to generate money without considering its social and economic complexities, President PEW Dr Murtaza Mughal said.
He said that any hike in the price of CNG, electricity, and petrol etc automatically adds billions to the coffers of government without any effort by the FBR, adding dependence on price revisions and borrowing despite SBP warnings proves that rulers don't expect anything from FBR. Therefore, they are left with limited options to finance their expenditures.
Dr Mughal further said that the government continues to give relaxations and unjust exemptions to the influential sectors and squeezes masses to make money for luxuries. PEW sees no positive move to broaden tax base or bring powerful sectors into tax net in the election year. This means that traders, rural elite, real estate, some services and stockbrokers would continue to accumulate wealth without contributing their share to the national development, he added.
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