ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Member National Assembly (MNA) Asad Umar has said that the existing economic system in the country was actually designed to protect and facilitate the misdeeds of influential and powerful of the society.
Speaking during pre-budget discussion held at SDPI here on Wednesday, Asad Umar said that due to misplaced priorities and ill-conceived policies, our national economy was sinking deep in the swamp. This dismal situation could be improved only through introducing direct tax regime and reducing the present GST rates that were highest in the region.
He said that the current deficit of Pakistan at present was touching $ 6.1 billion whereas the exports have witnessed a decrease first time ever in the country. He said that government should decrease indirect taxes and GST rate should be brought down up to 15%. He said that due to anti-growth and anti-industrialization tax policies, the economic activities in the country have been slowed down whereas the purchasing power has been reduced to a few hands and thus even international financial institutions have termed that the disparity of a certain level was harmful for the economic growth.
Asad Umar said prior to elections in 2013, PTI and PMLN both had promised to people of Pakistan that GST rate would be reduced but ironically government acted otherwise after the elections. He said that the tax collection machinery in the country was corrupt at extreme level and thus needed to be reformed and made autonomous.
In response to various questions posed by participants, PTI’s MNA said that Pakistan needed development professionalism to ascertain the actual needs of the people. He said that after debt servicing and allocations as defence budget expenditures, nothing left for development sector. Therefore, revenue collection needed to be enhanced but it should be done through direct tax regime. It’s quite ironic that the wealth tax in Pakistan was abolished that was another example of how policies were being made to facilitate only the elite of the country.
Earlier, Dr. Vaqar Ahmad, Deputy Executive Director SDPI, highlighted the importance of creating tax harmonization between the federal and provincial tax systems. He said that the recent research carried out by SDPI suggested that all provinces have different tax rates and most try to tax the same shrinking sources of income and wealth – thus leading to additional burden on already taxed sectors. He also presented Asad Umar a detailed document comprising the budget recommendations compiled by SDPI during its countrywide consultation with different stakeholders.