ISLAMABAD: The federal budget for the financial year 2015-16 failed to impress opposition politicians who, collectively, labelled it a “pro-rich and anti-poor budget”.

Across the board, politicians sitting on the opposition benches said the third budget of the current government was a typical PML-N financial statement, where the ruling party only took care of the interests of the haves, at the cost of have-nots.

Talking to Dawn, PTI leader Jahangir Tareen termed the budget document “completely visionless” and “without ambition”. Finance Minister Senator Ishaq Dar was happy with the mere fact that his government had performed better than the PPP, because he repeatedly compared this year’s statistics with those from 2013, the last year of the PPP government, Mr Tareen said.

Also read: Ishaq Dar eyes 7pc growth by tenure end

To a question, he said, “As long as the government doesn’t check the black economy and bring people into the tax net, the country’s economy cannot grow in real terms.” The PML-N’s entire leadership is part and parcel of the status quo and, therefore, the present government would always resist radical measures, come what may, he said.

The only way forward, in his view, was hard-hitting reform in the Federal Board of Revenue, making it an autonomous body. “The PTI, in its shadow budget, has earmarked Rs20 billion for tax reforms, while the PML-N government has completely ignored this side.”

PTI MNA Dr Arif Alvi also tweeted on Friday, “FM Ishaq Dar did not mention that tax to GDP ratio declined from 10.2% last year to 7.5% in 2014 & inflation reduced due to petrol price drop.” Dr Alvi also demanded a 10 per cent increase in the salaries of government employees.

Towards the fag end of the budget session of the National Assembly, opposition leader Syed Khursheed Shah observed that the budget seemed to have been prepared under the directions of the International Monetary Fund, adding that, “this budget either talks about taxes or benefits the rich. It has nothing for the poor”.

Talking to media persons outside Parliament House, MQM’s Abdul Rashid Godil said, “As far as I could understand, the budget does not give priority to health and education, and has only provided tax relief for the rich.”

The budget document, Mr Godil said, must not be restricted to only macro-level indicators as this one was, but should also carry information about whether economic benefits had been transferred to the downtrodden.

For example, he said, in the National Finance Commission (NFC) award, it was decided to constitute provincial commission awards for the transfer of funds to district level, but the present government had outright ignored this side in the budget.

Sheikh Rashid Ahmed said the finance minister had accepted his own failure on the floor of the house as the government had failed to achieve its targets on many fronts, such as exports. Rejecting the seven and half per cent increase in the salaries of government employees, Mr Ahmad said that considering skyrocketing prices, this increase was shamefully inadequate.

Published in Dawn June 6th, 2015

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