Life member and Chairman of the Standing Committee on Public Sector of the Federation of Pakistan Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FPCCI) Ahmed Saeed has appreciated the relief provided by the government in the fiscal budget to the common man, government employees and service class by increasing their minimum wages.
In a statement he also hailed the increase in pension by 15 percent and provision of 250,000 low-cost houses to the government employees and expanding the internship scheme for graduates. The establishment of 5,000 utility stores in the country and increase in scope of zero-rated tax, he said, would benefit the lower and middle classes.
He said that the 6.5 percent increase in subsidies to 113.9 billion, out of which 98 billion would be given to Karachi Electric Supply Corporation (KESC), textile and petroleum products
However, he said the increase from 15 percent to 20 percent in sales tax on import of raw material for iron and steel, plastic and paper items would badly affect their price, while one percent special surcharge on imports would ultimately surge inflation.
He was of the opinion that the government should have raised profit rates on National Saving certificates for providing relief to the depositors, who were mainly from the poor and middle class. He said that no measures had been announced in reducing the deficit, which had been caused mainly due to heavy import of luxury cars and mobile phones.-PR