Pakistan People's Party (PPP) Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari said on Monday that the tax system in the country is full of corruption and flaws. The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) government has burdened a common man instead of taking corrective measures to put the system on right track. "Taxpayers are neither corrupt not thieves," he asserted.
Bilawal was addressing a seminar organised by the party on economic situation of the country at Royal Palm Club. Leading economists addressed the seminar while representatives from the Lahore Chamber of Commerce & Industry (LCCI) also attended the seminar. PPP Punjab Chairman Qamar Zaman Kaira welcomed the guests. He said the PPP wants to put forward an alternate narrative of economy.
He said the PPP was pointing out an economic disaster during its campaign for the 2018 general elections. "It is also true that the PTI government inherited a difficult economy but it has made it disastrous during the last one year," he said and added that the common man is leading a miserable life today.
He said the PTI government had no plans on the economic front and has turned it into disaster due to its indecisiveness as well as a confusing state of mind. Initially, the government decided to avert the IMF and then it failed to negotiate properly after approaching it. Even the financial support from our 'friends' could not take us out of the crisis, he added.
According to him, the indecisiveness of the government hit the common man hard because the measures for stabilization taken before going to the IMF failed to impact the economy positively. Eventually, the government went to the IMF in a weak position and agreed upon the unrealistic goals, and a speedy reduction in primary budget deficit has dragged the whole economy, he said.
He said the PPP was supportive to the documentation of economy like rest of the world. "We believe that there is no other way out. But let me ask you that who had advised to do it in a short period of one year." He said all those having not documented themselves are not thieves. This single decision of the government has the most drastic impact on the economy, he added.
The PPP government in its deal with the IMF had not compromised on the interests of a common man, his salary, prices of essential items and introduced the Benazir Income Support Programme. Today, even the IMF has refused to cut the BISP while negotiating with the present government.
He said it is a pride of the PPP government that it protected the common man while burdening the elites. He said the economic crisis would not be over unless the government renegotiates with the IMF and agrees to realistic targets. An increase of 41 percent in revenue generation could not be a realistic approach, he added.
He also appreciated the Sindh government for its better Board of Revenue performance than all the other boards of revenue in the country. He said the public private partnership model is successful in Sindh. "We focused on PPP because of shortage of funds and have written many success stories." He said the Thar Coal project is another example of this kind of public private partnership.
He said President Zardari had given the slogan of 'trade not aid'. The PPP government would focus on regional trade as how can we refuse trade with our neighbours while simply relying on Free Trade Agreement with China.
Speaking on the occasion, Dr Qais Aslam said Pakistan cannot enter 21st century with the laws of 19th century.
Dr Hafeez Pasha told the audience that he was 21 years old when Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto had appointed him as his speech writer. He also called Bhutto a great leader. He said the country could be out of crisis if it develops the income tax system. He said the IMF has concluded that this government could not collect taxes. He stressed upon radical tax reforms. He agreed with Bilawal Bhutto on renegotiations with the IMF. He said revival of social democracy is a must to grow.
Dr Qaiser Bengali said betterment of the national economy must be focused on betterment of the life of a common man. According to him, the economic instability also resulted into a compromise on the political sovereignty of the country. He said the government should reduce the non-development and non-combat expenditures. He said the policy of nationalisation of economy in 1970s had strengthened the economy.
Dr Shahid Hafeez Kardar criticised the government for imposing the whole IMF programme during the very first year which has put the country into a troublesome situation. He also favoured renegotiations with the IMF and demanded reduction in bank mark-up as well as broadening the tax base.
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