ISLAMABAD: Senate on Monday started debating Finance Bill 2017, which mainly deals with the tax measures, under Article 73 of the Constitution.

Speaking on the floor of the Senate, Senator Chaudhry Tanveer Hussain said the PML-N has presented an “ideal and balanced budget” in parliament, and that the country was moving in the right direction due to economic policies of the current government.

He said several incentives have been announced in the proposed budget to give relief to the poor.

“It’s the vision of the PML-N leadership that now people from neglected areas, including Balochistan, are satisfied with government policies,” he said.

Mr Hussain said the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor has become an important project that would benefit all provinces.

A 10pc rise in salaries is insufficient, says Senator Mandviwalla

Participating in the debate, Senator Saleem Mandviwalla stressed the need to streamline the annual economic survey and make its figures accurate. Besides, additional steps should be taken to increase the credibility of the finance bill, he said.

He said that more incentives should be announced in the budget for the poor and people with low salaries, and more allocations should be made for health and education sectors.

The government, besides addressing the energy shortage, should also ensure that everyone gets clean drinking water, he said.

He said that a 10 per cent increase in salaries was insufficient and urged for sufficient increase in salaries of government employees. He said that mechanism of tax collection should be strengthened to collect more taxes to improve the economy.

Moreover, the government should pay more focus on remittances to generate foreign currency besides manpower, he said.

Published in Dawn, May 30th, 2017