Bilawal terms govt \u2018confused\u2019 over economy
\n ISLAMABAD
\nMinister for Energy Hammad Azhar has said that out of Rs300 billion taxes proposed in the Finance Supplementary Bill 2021, Rs270 billion are adjustable taxes to document the economy.
\nResponding to the points of Pakistan Peoples Party Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari in the National Assembly on Wednesday, he said the remaining taxes have been imposed only on luxury items.
\nThe minister for energy said the government took difficult decisions to save the country from bankruptcy and steered it on the growth trajectory. He pointed out the economy grew by four percent during the last financial year and it is expected to touch five percent during the current financial year.
\nHe said the tax collection is witnessing growth of thirty percent and will touch the level of six thousand billion rupees by the end of this fiscal year. Private sector credit has also witnessed an increase of fifty percent which is a manifestation that the economy is growing.
\nHammad Azhar said the government has put the country again on the path of industrialisation and large-scale manufacturing is continuously witnessing growth. He said the crop growth has also doubled in our tenure compared with the previous regime. He said, \u201cWe are expecting record production of major crops this year.\u201d
\nHe said there has been growth of 25 to 30 percent in exports which will touch thirty billion dollars by the end of this financial year.
\nThe minister for energy said the government is fully cognizant of the problem being faced by the people due to inflation. He said that the government disbursed about Rs200 billion amongst millions of deserving families under Ehsaas programme in the wake of Covid-19.
\nHe said,\u201dWe are also providing the people with Insaaf Sehat Card under which each household is entitled to medical treatment worth Rs1 million.\u201d He said the international community is appreciating Pakistan for successfully tackling the Covid pandemic.
\nThe minister said that 20,000 to 25,000 tonnes of urea is being produced in the country on a daily basis. He said that urea prices in Pakistan are much lower when compared with the international market. He said we are providing uninterrupted gas to the fertilizers plants from November.
\nEarlier, PPP Chairperson Bilawal Bhutto Zardari censured the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) government over the mini-budget that proposed ending tax exemptions on various goods to generate over Rs350 billion in taxes.
\nHe said the mini-budget is proof that the government is confused about the economy. \u201cWe had said from the very first day that economic confusion was akin to the death of the economy,\u201d he said.
\nThe PTI government created hardships for people by initially saying that it wouldn\u2019t go to the International Monetary Fund (IMF), Bilawal said, adding that when they were forced to seek IMF\u2019s help they struck a poor deal. \u201cWe said then that the \u2018PTI-IMF\u2019 budget would create difficulties for the poor segments of the society,\u201d he added.
\nThe PPP chief recalled that PML-N President and National Assembly Opposition Leader Shehbaz Sharif had proposed a \u2018charter for economy\u2019 in 2019 and a similar proposal was floated by former president Asif Ali Zardari as well, but the government didn\u2019t listen. \u201cYou ignored these suggestions and made unilateral decisions and now the nation can see the results,\u201d the PPP chairperson added.
\nBilawal said that never in the history of Pakistan had there been so many negative economic indicators. \u201cWhen we were fighting a war, when the country split into two, or when it was facing sanctions, the economic growth never hit a negative 0.4,\u201d he said. \u201cThe PTI has broken all records,\u201d Bilawal remarked. \u201cNaya Pakistan means unemployment, poverty, and inflation,\u201d he said, adding that this was not \u201ctabdeeli\u201d (change) but \u201ctabahi\u201d (destruction).
\nHe said the government had promised people economic development and no taxes, but it is proposing a \u201ctsunami of taxes in January\u201d. This budget will further result in unemployment and inflation, he said, adding that slashing the development budget by Rs250 billion will have an impact on every level.
\nThe increase in petroleum prices as a result of the mini-budget will increase inflation, the PPP chief said, adding that taxes on 1,000cc vehicles were being increased by 100pc. \u201cVehicles, petrol, and cycles \u2013 everything has been made expensive,\u201d he said, adding that the government is also proposing taxes on laptops and mobile internet.
\nPakistan is an agricultural economy but the government ruined the national economy through its successive budgets, he added. \u201cWe had heard of enmity towards people and the poor, but this government has stooped down to enmity towards the country,\u201d he added.
\nMeanwhile, the house resumed discussion on the Finance Supplementary Bill, 2021. PTI MNA Aliya Hamza said the national economy is on the growth trajectory due to prudent economic policies introduced by the government.
\nShe said the country\u2019s economy made significant progress that was evident from the fact that the listed business gained 59 percent profit despite an economic slowdown caused by the coronavirus pandemic. She said the country\u2019s gross domestic product growth rate stood at 3.98 percent in the last fiscal year.
\nShe said that the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf government is confident of achieving the 5 percent GDP growth rate this year.
\nTaking part in the discussion, Akbar Chitrali said the successive governments have failed to provide relief to the common man. He said the prices of essential commodities will further increase as a result of the financial supplementary bill 2021. He said the government should reduce non development expenditures. TLTP<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Bilawal terms govt \u2018confused\u2019 over economy ISLAMABAD Minister for Energy Hammad Azhar has said that out of Rs300 billion taxes proposed in the Finance Supplementary Bill 2021, Rs270 billion are adjustable taxes to document the economy. Responding to the points of Pakistan Peoples Party Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari in the National Assembly on Wednesday, he […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":224816,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[222,1707,2920],"class_list":{"0":"post-238408","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-top-news","8":"tag-government","9":"tag-hammad-azhar","10":"tag-industrialisation"},"yoast_head":"\n