MQM demands political, fiscal autonomy for provinces
By Our Staff Reporter
ISLAMABAD, June 14: The Muttahida Qaumi Movement has demanded through its proposals on the budget that the provinces should be granted complete political, administrative and fiscal autonomy.
The party has forwarded the proposals, containing 17 points, to the finance ministry for incorporation in the budget and its copies were released to the press by party’s parliamentary leader in the National Assembly, Dr Farooq Sattar, at a news conference in the parliament house cafeteria on Wednesday.
The party called for abolishing feudalism in all its forms, breaking the stranglehold of the privileged and ruling elite.
It demanded that an independent national finance commission should be constituted by amending Article 160, deduction of 5 per cent at source as service charges from the provinces should be discontinued, domestic sales tax estimated to be Rs155 billion should be given to the provinces for assessment and collection and GST should be handed over to the provinces for levy.
It said taxes on petroleum products, which constituted 43 per cent of the price, should be reduced by 50 per cent, CVT being a provincial tax should be left to the provinces, 0.2 per cent tax on bank transactions should be withdrawn and fixed tax should be imposed on income from big agricultural holdings.
The MQM also called for increasing the allocation for education and health sectors to 5.5 per cent of the GDP, including proceeds from privatisation in the national divisible pool to share it with the provinces and withdrawing sales tax on food items, including ghee, tea and sugar.
It said the levy of 30 per cent GST on pesticides should be reduced to 10 per cent, import duty on motorcycles should be reduced form 90 per cent to 50 per cent and the cartel of sugar and cement hoarders should be exposed, and action taken against them.
It also demanded that the centre should pay the amount of difference occurring due to increase in salaries of government employees to lessen burden on the provinces.
The party said the 20 per cent increase in pension announced for those retired before 1977 should be applied to pensioners retired before May 1, 1996, and 15 per cent dearness allowance announced for government employees should be applied to contract government employees too. It said that instead of Zero Point, the Khokhrapar railways station should be developed and modernised, one train should be operated daily between the two countries and the Indian deputy high commission office should be opened in Karachi.
