By Ali Imran
ISLAMABAD: The lawmakers in the National Assembly on Tuesday called on the government to revisit the increase in taxes on the agriculture sector, baby milk, salaried class, and stationery items in the budget for 2024-25.
Participating in the debate in the House, Chief Whip of the Sunni Ittehad Council (SIC), Malik Aamir Dogar urged the government to reduce taxes on essential items like milk and stationery.
Criticizing the lack of relief for both common people and businesses, he said that higher electricity bills were making difficult for exporters to compete globally due to rising production costs.
He said that agriculture was the backbone of the economy and should be more incentivized to strengthen the national economy and support the farmers.
Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) Lawmaker, Shahid Usman Ibrahim acknowledging both the positive and negative aspects of the budget, said that under the current challenging circumstances, the government presented a positive budget.
He said that the PML-N government saved Pakistan from financial collapse and set it on the right path, affirming that his party would continue to protect the country’s interests.
Highlighting that agriculture contributes 24 percent of the GDP and involves two-thirds of the population, he said that the government had allocated Rs 5 billion for the agricultural sector in the budget.
The lawmaker also claimed that inflation dropped from 38 percent to 11.8 percent and that the stock market reached new heights, with the index hitting 78,000 points for the first time.
He stressed the importance of implementing the structural reforms mentioned by the Finance Minister and reducing government expenditures.
Another PML-N Member, Anwar-ul-Haq Chaudhry, appreciated the government for presenting a balanced and people-friendly budget under the current adverse circumstances.
He attributed the drop in inflation to 11.8 percent to the government’s concrete measures over the past three to four months, adding that there had been a significant reduction in petroleum prices and anticipated further decreases, potentially bringing inflation to single digits.
Anwar-ul-Haq expressed confidence in Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s ability to tackle these economic challenges.
He stressed the urgent need for foreign investment and expressed optimism about positive outcomes from the Prime Minister’s recent visits to China and other friendly countries.
