ISLAMABAD: The opposition parties in the Senate have termed the federal budget for 2014-15 pro-elite and presented recommendations for mitigating suffering of the common man.

The opposition parties said there were contradictory figures in the budget documents and the Economic Survey presented by Finance Minister Ishaq Dar. The budget documents contained distorted figures about agriculture sector, taxation, customs duties, gross domestic product (GDP) and economic growth.

Leaders of the opposition parties said that under the budget the provinces were not given their due shares, which was against the spirit of 18th amendment.

There’s difference of opinion within government over budget, says former minister

“It is a budget of concessions for big businessmen, feudal lords and investors, derived from commitments made by the government with the IMF and World Bank,” said Senator Raza Rabbani, the PPP’s parliamentary leader in the upper house, at a joint press conference with leaders of other opposition parties on Friday.

The parties represented at the press conference included the PML-Q, Awami National Party (ANP) and Balochistan National Party-A.

Earlier the press conference was to be held at the PPP Secretariat but leaders of the other opposition parties objected to this. The conference was later held at the Parliament House.

Former finance minister Saleem Mandviwala told the conference that there were a lot of distortions in the budget documents. “Interestingly, the budget (figures) do not match the Economic Survey which means there is a difference of opinion within the government.”

He claimed that 4.14 per cent GDP growth as shown in the budget was not realistic as, according to the IMF, it was around 3.5 per cent. He called upon the government to provide real figures and tell the nation where the country stood.

Senator Taj Haider said that resources of the provinces were being given to the centre and those of poor people to the elite. Under the 18th amendment, he said, the subject of Zakat had been handed over to the provinces but Zakat collection was still being made by the centre.

Increase in gas development cess and power tariff would put an additional burden on the poor people, he added.

Haji Adeel of the ANP said the centre was not dealing properly and fairly with Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, adding that the provinces should be allowed to utilise their resources and income and even their surplus resources should not be handed over to the centre.

“Former president Asif Ali Zardari had given Rs10 billion to KP which had been deposited in a bank. Now the funds have increased to Rs15bn,” he remarked.

He asked where the government had hidden in the budget a grant of $1.5bn it had received from Saudi Arabia.

“The volume of the country’s foreign loans has increased to 67 per cent of the GDP but nobody knows where these loans are utilised,” he said.

Mr Rabbani provided the list of recommendations of the joint opposition. Some of the main recommendations are:

— Electricity supply is a service therefore provinces should not collect sales tax on it.

— Education and health are provincial subjects. Apart from money needed for regulatory functions, allocation for both departments should be given to the provinces.

— Not ad hoc but basic salary of government employees should be increased by 25 per cent and the Employees Old-age Benefit Institution pension should be enhanced to Rs6,000 per month.

— No increase should be made in electricity tariff in the current fiscal year.

— SRO culture in taxation should come to an end as the government last year provided benefit of Rs237bn to some people by issuing SROs.

— Public Sector Development Programme allocation for provinces should be increased and important roads and dam projects should be funded through it.

— The proposal to withdraw 10 per cent federal excise duty on vehicles of more than 1,800cc should be reviewed.

— Reforms should be made in income tax regime.

Published in Dawn, June 7th, 2014