This is supposed to be a people-friendly budget. And some of it does look good; at least on paper. The newly and rather swiftly appointed Finance minister announced relief measures for middle- and upper-income groups in his budget windup speech. Indeed, Dr Miftah Ismail was out to play hardball: no additional taxes for anyone and, similarly, no concessions for those who fail to file income tax returns.
\nSo far, so good. Until one factors into the equation that half of the Rs5. 237 trillion-budget for Fiscal Year 2018-19 is earmarked for debt servicing and defence. Pakistan owes around Rs22trillion to international creditors. Towards this end, Rs1.607 trillion will be taken out of the national budget; or 30.7 percent. Regarding defence, this will take up a total of Rs1.2 trillion; or 23 percent.
\nIslamabad should perhaps look to Britain to learn some lessons for the future. After all, that nation is the world\u2019s sixth largest economy and the number two global arms exporter \u2014 yet food banks across the United Kingdom handed out some 1.2 million emergency food parcels during the 2016-2017 period. It is also estimated that some four million British children live below the poverty line. What Pakistan should take away from this is how the very literal cost of war ruins more lives than those lost on the battlefield. Thus, in the local context, the reduced risk of hostilities with neighbouring countries partially holds the key to unlocking a healthy economy.
\nNot increasing the tax net across the board may make sense in theory, given that lower taxes are linked to stimulated growth. Yet the aforementioned debt servicing somewhat distorts these gains. By the same token, it is still up for debate as to whether it is fair to stagnate tax rates for the highest wage earners. Particularly as this offers the same tax relief as the those who fall to the other end of the salary spectrum. Dr Ismail has ruled out hitting individuals with increases. Be that as it may, the challenge remains ensuring that Pakistan\u2019s richest cough up their dues. For unless this happens, low-income earners risk losing out on public spending when it comes to crucial goods and services.
\nThis is why it is so important to have those billions of rupees that have been lost in written-off loans recovered and injected back into the national economy. Of course, this is a matter that the Chief Justice of Pakistan has recently taken up. And it is a welcome move. Not just because it could potentially add an extra Rs54 billion to the exchequer. But because the state can never be complicit in plundering resources that essentially belong to the people. Not when it is the latter who always end up picking up the tab.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
This is supposed to be a people-friendly budget. And some of it does look good; at least on paper. The newly and rather swiftly appointed Finance minister announced relief measures for middle- and upper-income groups in his budget windup speech. Indeed, Dr Miftah Ismail was out to play hardball: no additional taxes for anyone and, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-26887","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","category-editorial"],"yoast_head":"\n