KARACHI, June 17: Business leaders on Monday continued to express their mixed reactions on the next fiscal year’s budget presented by Finance Minister Shaukat Aziz on Saturday. They hope that the measures proposed to boost investment would bring desired and positive results, but were not happy on the unrealistic tax collection target fixed at Rs460 billion.
A former President of the Federation of Pakistan Chambers of Commerce and Industry S.M. Muneer appreciated the “business friendly” feature of the 2002-03 budget but expressed reservations on the Rs460 billion tax collection target.
He reminded the government that a tax collection target of Rs457 billion was fixed in the 01-02 budget, which was revised downward three times in the year and hardly Rs400 billion is expected to be recovered. He feared that an inflated target of Rs460 billion would bring pressures on the tax collectors who in turn would harass the taxpayers and would eventually affect the trade and industry.
The Chairman of the Towel Manufacturers’ Association of Pakistan S.M.A. Rizvi in his statement has ridiculed those hailing the budget as ‘investment friendly’. “With the present political situation, complicated sales tax laws, multiplicity of the federal and provincial departments, high cost of utilities, total break down of infrastructure facilities, conditionalities of the IMF and other donors, we can only pray to God that he may send some investor from the heaven,” he said.
He, however, appreciated some relief in the income tax but term the reduction in import duty as cosmetic.
G. R. Arshad, life chairman, Action Committee of All Pakistan Textile Processing Mills Association highlighting various positive features of the budget called it a balanced and investment oriented budget.
Haji Shafi-ur-Rehman of Pakistan Kiryana Merchants Association criticized the government for retaining 20 per cent duty on import of spices. He said that trade bodies have been informing government that this high rate of duty on spices has led to smuggling which be tackled effectively by reducing the rate of duty.
The union of Small and Medium Enterprises expressed its disappointment as what it said the budget has failed to provide any facility or incentive to small entrepreneur.
The Pakistan Ship Breakers’ Association welcomed the withdrawal of central excise duty on ship plates.
Haji Mohammad Hanif Biloo of the Wholesale Chemists Council of Pakistan expressed disappointment that the budget did not address the issue of levy of GST on medicines.