The Pakistan Economy Watch (PEW) has said that the recently presented federal and provincial budgets have proved that our leaders are least concerned about welfare of masses or stability of the economy. Rich have again escaped taxation while poor were cornered.
Dr Murtaza Mughal, president PEW, in a press release Sunday said that pro-rich budget had overburdened masses on the dictation of IMF while some best-loved sectors were supported on the cost of others. He urged international lenders not to remain silent over broken promise of taxing agricultural income. Opposition should also play proper role to save poor he added.
Recent volatility in the food prices had boosted the income of cultivators to new heights, he said adding that now they were getting best possible returns. Outside oil, farming was the highest earning sector world-wide since two years.
He said that the Federal government as well as provinces had remained unable to tax agricultural income since 62 years. The future of country will remain insecure in such a situation he maintained.
"Politicians should unite and push effective taxation on all sectors to walk their talk and bar profiteers from finding tax covers," he said.
The stock market barons who were behind three scams in last six years should not get undue benefits on the cost of others, he said. Similarly, he said, fertiliser mafia should not be allowed to disturb the process of improving agriculture sector.
He emphasised multinationals had already seized around 80 percent of global wealth; they did not deserve extra relaxation. Dr Mughal demanded that government should double minimum wages, announce and enforce 100 percent raise for private and government employees. It should review withdrawing subsidies before ensuring a proper safety mechanism for poor, he said adding plans to help poor seem highly political and cosmetic in nature.
MQM's stance over power subsidy lauded:
He lauded the MQM's stance over power subsidy and said that it should not support corporate farming, which was being perceived as neo-colonialism. Dr, Mughal said the military and civilian governments had been trying Citibank since ten years, but it seems only interested in balancing the books by window dressing and widening the class difference. Now rulers should try some other bank, he added. The masses will continue to be punished for the crimes they never committed after the 2009-10 anti-poor budget that had been criticised in a way witnessed never before, said Dr Mughal.-PR