ISLAMABAD, June 10: The Senate on Saturday unanimously recommended that the National Finance Commission (NFC) award be announced without delay, the Federal Bureau of Statistics be made an autonomous body, a 17.5 per cent raise be given to all government employees and profit on all national savings schemes be enhanced.
Concluding a four-day debate on the new budget, the upper house adopted 37 recommendations, seeking changes in various financial, tax-related and other laws.
These recommendations will be sent to the National Assembly which will take a final decision on them.
The Senate called for keeping the annual Finance Bill strictly within the scope of Article 73 of the Constitution.
It suggested that an ‘appropriate’ amendment be made to the Constitution to give at least 15 days to the Senate, instead of the existing seven days, for sending its recommendations to the lower house on the Finance bill and the annual budget statement.
It recommended that the capital value tax on brokerage transactions and trading transactions should be fixed at 0.02 per cent and 0.04 per cent, respectively.
It further suggested that the long-term fixed interest rate be levied on project financing at 10 per cent per annum.
The Senate sought an amendment to the Factories Act 1934 whereby women employees would be allowed to work in two shifts up to 10pm, provided the employer arranged transport for them.
It recommended that the Public Accounts Committee, comprising members of the National Assembly, be reconstituted to include members from both houses of parliament.
According to one recommendation, the State Bank should ensure that the depositors’ return should not be less than one per cent below Kibor so that profits earned by banks on advances should be judiciously shared with depositors.
All banks must spend two per cent of their profit on education and health.
Another recommendation sought re-fixing withholding tax on cash withdrawals at 0.1 per cent for cheques exceeding Rs25,000 and 0.2 per cent for amount exceeding Rs50,000, and reduction of interest rate of export refinance to 6 per cent per annum.
The upper house called for a mechanism for maintaining buffer stocks to ensure supply of essential commodities at the time of shortage.
It sought unified withholding tax on purchase of locally manufactured and import of new cars.
The Senate suggested that provinces should be allowed to repay expensive federal loans through low-interest bank borrowing.
It recommended an expeditious disposal of cases of widows seeking loan write-off as had been announced in 2005.
It also recommended that the Monopoly Control Authority be converted into Competition Commission.
The upper house sought amendment to sub-section (1) of section 2 of the Professions Tax Limitation Act 1941 to impose tax not exceeding Rs100,000 on persons engaged in professions, trades, or employments.
It recommended that a ‘parliamentary institute of research and study’ be established to promote lawmaking and provide data to members.
The Senate suggested that future privatisation of state-run units be preferably carried out by disinvestment through stock exchanges of Pakistan, where feasible.
