So the frenzy begins, or is it over for the next 1 months…? The much awaited annual budget has been declared amidst typical glitches and leg pullings which are a regular feature around this time every year…
Dawn have the best coverage so far and this report is very informative;
One question; how much does an average citizen from any province get affected by the federal budget as compared to the provincial budget?
and guys pour in here all comments, suggestions, thoughts, questions, answers and in depth analysis on the budget, its nature, new policies and results expected…:k:
I have to say the budget has it's positive sides but as far as making a radical difference to your average Pakistani ..I don't see that happening..inflation remains quite high..the pay and pensions increase is when adjusted for inflation not enough..I don't see why they couldn't have cut petrol taxes?
As far as the NFC is concerned, the provinces have in reality very little control over revenues..even provincial taxes are collected by the federal government..Pakistans resource distribution system is exceptionally biased..
AJ: PSDP..I believe is Public Sector Development Programmes..because of increased fiscal space after debt repayment and rescheduling there has been an increase in it..
beta: To my knowledge there hasn't been a mini budget since about a year after Mushy took over..
i wonder what impact the NFC would bring into the picture…it’s meeting similar criticisms as the NSC did…i wonder if a common ground would ever be reached…
Another report shows the figures with house rents for govt/military officials go up by 143percent. http://dawn.com/2005/06/08/top7.htm
the link has figures with rent allowances for various govt BPSs and includes salaries for military NCOs, JCOs, Cadets and Officers too.
on ground inflation is existant…how much do these meagre rises mean anything…?
Traders in Karachi hailed the new measures
Pakistan’s latest budget has been widely welcomed as pro-business, helping the Karachi Stock Exchange enjoy a 3% rise in Tuesday trading.
The budget cut a number of business taxes, in addition to dedicating more money for defence and social and development spending.
“It’s a positive growth-orientated budget,” said Arif Habib, former boss of the Karachi exchange.
Pakistan’s economy is currently strong, growing at 8.4% this fiscal year.
The government’s tax cuts include a 1% rebate on the tax firms must pay when listing on the stock exchange, and exemptions from capital gains tax for investments in agriculture-related sectors.
The finance ministry also announced an increase in the tax-free allowance on profits from stock investment to 150,000 rupees ($2,514; £1,375) from 100,000 rupees.
There was also no mention of any increases to Capital Value Tax on share transactions, which some investors had feared.
**Development analysts criticised the budget, however, saying it did not do enough for ordinary people. **
So what kind of a budget would benefit the ordinary people? Give some examples please. Where you would take the money from and put where and how long can Pakistan sustain that particular project and at what cost?