LAHORE: Punjab Minister for Finance Mujtaba Shujaur Rehman is optimistic that the levy on big houses and luxury vehicles will broaden tax net and generate Rs3 billion in the upcoming fiscal year.

“The revenue generated through this pragmatic measure would be utilised for housing projects for low-income group like Ashiyana Housing Scheme,” the minister told media at the post-budget press conference here on Saturday.

He said property tax had been revised after 13 years or so. The funds generated under this head would be given to town municipal administrations and other development and civic agencies.

Imposition of tax on services would not affect the poor, said Mr Rehman who was flanked by Finance Secretary Jahanzed Khan, Planning and Development Board Chairman Irfan Elahi and MPA Dr Ayesha Ghous Pasha.

Practical steps would be taken to raise agriculture productivity and increase employment opportunities, he said and added plans were afoot to create four million jobs besides imparting technical training to two million people in the next four years.

Tractor scheme has been wound up

“We have laid the stone to make Punjab a safe, prosperous, educated, economically-strong and agriculturally-developed province by the end of our term as a target of eight per cent provincial economic growth has been fixed for next four years,” said the finance minister.

Concrete steps were under way to minimise electricity shortage and a total of 19 power generation projects had so far been inaugurated. Some 1,000 Megawatts of electricity would be added to the system by the end of current year. The Sahiwal coal power projects would add 1,320MW within the next two years.

The Punjab government has allocated Rs31 billion for energy sector in the next financial year. Domestic and commercial consumers would be motivated to use low-consumption electricity equipment and a sum of Rs2.5 billion had been allocated for the purpose.

Regarding non-utilisation of the low-cost energy generation potential of sugar mills industry, P&D Board Chairman Irfan Elahi said the federal government had launched a special programme for bagasse-based energy generation while the Punjab government also allocated Rs500 million for the sector.

To a question, the minister said the Green Tractor Scheme had been wound up after consultation with farmers’ bodies.

“Representatives of farmers and legislators having agricultural background proposed in consultations for budget making that the scheme be withheld and subsidy for fertiliser be enhanced. The provincial government has allocated Rs5 billion while same amount would be given by the federal government for the provision of subsidised fertiliser to farmers during the 2014-15 fiscal year,” he added.

Regarding increase in the Chief Minister’s Secretariat non-salary allocations, the minister said 95 per cent of these funds were reserved for the poor who could not afford treatment and medical procedures like liver transplant and kidney dialysis.

Published in Dawn, June 15th, 2014