Govt urged to broaden tax base

LAHORE:The record-breaking increase in the prices of various essential commodities, including petrol, electricity and gas has enhanced the frustration and anxiety of the people, especially among the youth to a great extent. The announcement of the national budget has become a formality now after the frequent increase in the prices of various essential commodities. Even the people termed the unannounced increase in the prices of various commodities as the mini budget. There is need to increase the tax net to reduce the budget deficit.

These views were expressed by the discussants in Jang Economic Session on ‘Will Budget 2024-25 resolve the public problems?’ Senior analyst Qayyum Nizami, Qaisera Sheikh, Luban Behyat, Rehman Aziz Chan, Haji Ahmed and Mehboob Ahmed Sirki were among the panelists while the session was moderated by Sikindar Lodhi.

Talking on this occasion, senior analyst Qayyum Nizami said that there will be no relief for public in the IMF-dictated budget. The expenditures are growing but not the income. There is great need to reduce expenditures of federal and provincial governments.

He said that govt should broaden the tax base, end the indirect taxes and bring the agriculture and real estate in the tax net. Young generation who are going abroad due to unemployment, needed to be given modern skills and jobs as per their qualification and skills, he added. Expressing her views, Qaisera Sheikh said usually our national budget was made based on facts. And in this regard, the performance of previous governments is in front of everyone. We do not focus on the aspects that should be kept in front while making the budget.

On the other hand, India formulated its budget keeping youth, women, farmers and poor in front while politically motivated BISP programme producing beggars here, she added. Luban Behyat said that those nations enjoy real progress, which focused the economic development at the primary level. Our media highlighted the economic matter only in May or June while politics remained their focus rest of year which is a sort of injustice, she added.

She added that the economy should be put on priority list like Chinese model. China has included women in industry for development, they worked on population control and today China has become a strong economy. Rehman Aziz Chan said that the size of GDP reduced for the last few years due to weak governance and the IMF. The pace of industrial development has also been affected. The steel sector has been hit hard and resultantly it is in the deep crisis. Our tax laws are flawed, tax reforms need to be improved. Haji Ahmed said that changes in tax laws are a normal practice in Pakistan. The appeal procedure has been changed through an amendment during the last year and a half. Our tax collection is mostly done in the form of advance tax in the budget, which should be vanished or minimised. A balance in the taxation system is very important for the economic development of the country and all sectors should be brought in tax net irrespectively. Mehboob Ahmed Sirki said that there was need to increase the tax net to reduce the budget deficit. New taxpayers will have to be found because without it the budget deficit will not be reduced. Unregistered tax people are very common in the markets. Traders are black sheep working on slips and cash economy.