ISLAMABAD: Finance Minister Dr Abdul Hafeez Sheikh said on Wednesday the government would introduce reformed general sales tax and reprioritise the entire budget. He informed the Senate during the question hour that self-reliance was not possible without enhancing resources. He said the government had imposed capital gains tax on powerful groups and would now introduce the reformed GST and make changes in budget priorities.
Dr Hafeez said that at a time when the devastating flood had affected 20 million people across the country, a proposal to impose ‘flood tax’ was being opposed. He said the elite class was the main obstacle to introducing the flood tax. He said that inflation, which was 12 per cent in 2007-08, rose to 20.8 per cent in 2008-9. It came down to 11.7 per cent in 2009-10. The security situation and re-payment of loans have been the main factors contributing to the rise in inflation.
The minister said it was for the first time that the government had decided to freeze the development budget to the level of the previous year. However, he said that despite all resource constraints there would be no compromise on promotion of education. He said the budget of the Higher Education Commission had been increased by eight per cent.—Iftikhar A. Khan
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