Sindh Assembly's pre-budget session: PTI proposes government to cut ST on services, tax agriculture income

Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) on Monday proposed the government to scale back the 'highest' sales tax on services to help reduce the soaring cost of businesses, but suggested the implementation of the agriculture income tax. The Sindh Assembly opened a historic pre-budget discussion, allowing lawmakers from either side of the divide to debate the third quarter budget expenditure and utilisation, besides giving their proposals for the next fiscal budget 2015-16.
Syed Hafeezuddin of PTI in his brief speech during the session said that the province had highest rate of sales tax on services ranging to 15 percent as compared to the same taxes in other neighbouring and regional countries where it stood at seven percent.
The tax is giving a rise to the cost of doing business in the province, he said and suggested that "the tax be lowered keeping in view the cost of doing business". He also asked the government to transform the Sindh Bank loan criterion from rich to poor people.
He said the province official bank should extend small loans to the poor who could undertake new businesses to make a living for them. The opposition's lawmaker also recommended the government to make initiatives for the youth, besides special packages to develop Hyderabad and Karachi.
A lady lawmaker of Muttahida Quami Movement (MQM) Reghna Ansar said that the government could not make spending on different uplift schemes despite the budgetary allocation had been released. He enumerated a number of schemes in different parts of the province which failed to receive budgetary funds to start. Hospitals, medical colleges, airport in Islamkot, RO plants in Tharparkar, local government's schemes, agriculture projects etc, were not given funds during the current fiscal year as scores of uplift programmes continued to remain unopened. She said that the government's several projects had still zero-spending and urged the government to complete such schemes.
MQM's Saleem Rajput showed concerns over unattended problems in Sukkur, as the city was earmarked with no uplift schemes in the current fiscal year. He told the house that the city had a number of civic problems including deteriorating sewerage system, shortage of potable water and poor road infrastructure. He urged the government to undertake these projects to help the citizens.
"The government should show keen interest in Sukkur," he urged, saying that the Ghulam Mahar Medical College had been on the provincial budget for the last 12-13 years but not on the ground as students took classes at alternative but poor building where even clean drinking water was not available. He said that the Sukkur Civil Hospital was in tatters despite the budgetary allocations to upgrade it. He said that the city failed to receive funds for its several projects during the current fiscal year.
Pakistan People's Party's Dr Sohrab Sarki raised a number of problems that the people of his constituency was facing and asked the government to step up its financial and other resources to help the farmers by making new water lines, establishing new gates through embankments and providing electricity to tube-wells for irrigation of crops on time to avoid a yield loss.
The house also adopted a resolution with a majority vote, which the treasury member, Syed Nasir Hussain Shah had presented, stating that "This Assembly resolves that the Government of Sindh to approach Federal Government to adopt the accepted criteria for the promotion of Grade-19, 20 and 21 of all services groups. It includes all review cases fulfilling criteria of ACR qualification, Pen-Picture and performance in staff college course. It has been observed that the promotions held recently by Federal Government actually are not in conformity with set criteria." The house was adjourned till Tuesday.