The National Assembly unanimously approved the Federal Budget (Finance Bill) for the financial year 2023-22. During the clause-wise approval, the price of petroleum levy was gradually increased by Rs. The new tax rate amendments were approved and a levy of up to Rs 16,000 will be levied on the import of mobile phones.
Airlines, automobiles, cement, chemicals, cigarettes, fertilizers, steel, sugar industry, textiles, banking and other sectors will be subject to 10% super tax. Tax rate for non-filers has been increased from 100% to 200%. An amendment to levy a levy of Rs. 30,000 on the unit was also passed. Later, the Finance Bill 2022 was presented in the House for approval which was passed by a majority vote.
The national budget is an estimate of income and expenditure for the whole year. Every year the national budget is declared a people-friendly budget, but the national budget is such a mess of financial statistics that the people do not understand it. When he goes to the market, he gets an idea of the direction of the new budget from the flow of flour and pulses. Prime Minister Mian Shahbaz Sharif’s government, with the help and consultation of its economists and economists, wants to get additional resources of about Rs. 466 billion.
For which it has been decided to impose super tax up to 10%. Of course, while it will have far-reaching effects on the country’s economy, it will also have an additional burden on various sections of the population. It can be said that the coalition government has to make such difficult and public outrageous decisions to meet the terms of the Imran government’s loan agreement with the IMF so that the bailout program from the IMF Not only the remaining installments of the loan could be received but also the IMF bailout program could be continued for the future. It can also be said that such difficult decisions were necessary to save the country from default (bankruptcy).
Earlier, Mian Shahbaz Sharif’s government had hiked petrol, diesel and kerosene prices by at least Rs 84 per liter in the last one month. And there are levies that were not mentioned in the speech. Including them in the finance bill has given bad news of further increase in inflation in the country which will target the middle class. However, on the other hand some economic analysts also say that The salaried class can benefit from the change in the tax slab and tax exemption on annual income of Rs 600,000 and the facility to pay Rs 100 tax on income of Rs 600,000 to Rs 12 lakh. It is our national misfortune that people are looking for a secure future in government jobs. There is no other sector except employment.
There is no question of people who have not become a burden on the government in the name of employment, there is no question of people living their lives around or below the poverty line. The highest increase was in the target of Rs 750 billion in petroleum products and levies, so far the government has managed to collect Rs 135 billion in levies. Prices of petroleum products are expected to rise further by at least Rs 30 per liter at the beginning of next financial year.
For the next financial year, the government has tried to impose the burden of the country’s unsustainable economy on the people in other terms including gas development surcharge and levy on LPG. The federal budget lacks focus on education, employment and health sectors. came. It seems that the government’s entire focus is on borrowing from the IMF, which seems to be failing miserably to address public issues. After all, the servants of the state (bureaucracy) live a life of luxury in Pakistan while the owners and heirs of the state are thirsty for basic rights.
The toy that is played with the people every year in the name of national budget can also be gauged from the fact that the rate of direct tax is decreasing and the rate of direct tax is increasing. Surprisingly, the claimants of the people’s grief never talk about this oppression. In all the states of the world, the rich pay taxes while the poor people are given their basic facilities and in Pakistan the Ganges is flowing backwards. The elite is enjoying the taxes of the poor. The national budget does not allocate any budget to the local governments of the people, knowing that the provinces continue to deprive the local governments of their rights.
No government has thought of any way to ensure that the people can afford local governments. If this is not open public hostility then what else. Article 38 of the Constitution explicitly guarantees that every unemployed citizen will be given unemployment allowance for bread, clothing, housing, education and health needs. To date, no national budget in Pakistan has allocated a budget for unemployment allowance.
In this way, the constitution is being openly violated. Inflation is a basic problem for every man, which exceeds his purchasing power makes it difficult for him to live with dignity, while inflation is not a major problem for the ruling elite. They get it for free and they have a lot of wealth from God’s servants.
There is progress in any respect in the world, be it knowledge economy or science
Education on the basis of narcissism, be it traditional business development or development of IT sector, is the basis of this system and development, but our national tragedy is that we completely ignore the education sector in the national budget every year, like MBB. S, engineering is still a trend today but not a job. No one is ready to think about the consequences of what we are teaching. In the next few years, the focus will be on skills instead of degrees, so we have to realize that and focus on improving the skill set.
The world has come a long way, now that emotional intelligence, MBTI, is being looked at, we have to prepare our students this way. Industry experience should be mandatory for our teachers, they should be sent to the industry every 5 years, so that they can update their practical knowledge and prepare students according to modern requirements.
During Imran Khan’s four-and-a-half-year rule, inflation also rose and consumer prices rose, a trend that continues today. The country’s economic situation is still dire, with power shortages and several hours of load shedding, but it is also true that the current government cannot be blamed for all the economic woes.
The political and religious parties of the government and the opposition play their role in the national budget only according to their party interests and financial interests. This exploitative tradition of the budget has taken root to such an extent that there is no one left to fight the case of the people and open public hostility is created by using the name of the people. If the state loses confidence in the eyes of the people, then the state becomes a victim of stagnation and chaos. In such a state, it is not possible to run any system successfully. Nothing is left for the collective interest of millions of people.
There is a need for the government to understand the people’s problems and overcome the trade deficit by increasing the country’s exports and reducing imports. Leaving the policy of borrowing and paying interest on loans and focusing on increasing trade and exports, the burden of unnecessary imports also needs to be reduced.
