Pakistan budget-Fiscal year 2013-2014: Discussions

[Jango]

Discuss the federal budget that is to be presented today here.

The secret funds of 16 ministries to be finished. Only intel agencies will now have a secret fund.

The taxes are expected to rise. Subsidies to be finished.

@hasnain0099, what is your opinion on all this?

Edit: The actual budget document:

http://www.finance.gov.pk/budget/Budget_in_Brief_2013_14.pdf

 

[Tiger Awan]

 

[farhan_9909]

what about the education budget.

i hope it is increased to atleast 3% this year..because if i correctly remember they had said it would be increased to 4.5%

 

[SBD-3]

Discuss the federal budget that is to be presented today here.

The secret funds of 16 ministries to be finished. Only intel agencies will now have a secret fund.

The taxes are expected to rise. Subsidies to be finished.

@hasnain0099, what is your opinion on all this?

Vehicle withholding tax is a good initiative since it would bring additional people into tax net. The benefit of this taxation is that those who are already registered would be able to claim the tax back. Those who are not, would have to get an NTN to claim the refund.
I am not really sure about what is the purpose of weaving FED of 8% and increase of Sales Tax to 16% on sugar but the end price would not be affected.
I don't know whether the income tax on electricity consumption greater than 1000 units will bode for those who are already paying income tax. Perhaps a withholding tax (like vehicles) would have been a better idea.
Tax on functions can also be more rationalized by putting a floor (because even the poor use marriage halls these days) so tax could be levied after a certain amount of bill.
Rest government has also included a sales tax on the electricity bills of small enterprises and manufacturers. This is done to encourage these sectors to come into tax net (since once registered,they can adjust their input sales tax against the sales tax on output).
I haven't heard about agriculture income tax yet on the media but there were rumors that tax is to be levied about a certain land holdings but not sure about it.
what else have i left?

 

[Jango]

Vehicle withholding tax is a good initiative since it would bring additional people into tax net. The benefit of this taxation is that those who are already registered would be able to claim the tax back. Those who are not, would have to get an NTN to claim the refund.
I am not really sure about what is the purpose of weaving FED of 8% and increase of Sales Tax to 16% on sugar but the end price would not be affected.
I don't know whether the income tax on electricity consumption greater than 1000 units will bode for those who are already paying income tax. Perhaps a withholding tax (like vehicles) would have been a better idea.
Tax on functions can also be more rationalized by putting a floor (because even the poor use marriage halls these days) so tax could be levied after a certain amount of bill.
Rest government has also included a sales tax on the electricity bills of small enterprises and manufacturers. This is done to encourage these sectors to come into tax net (since once registered,they can adjust their input sales tax against the sales tax on output).
I haven't heard about agriculture income tax yet on the media but there were rumors that tax is to be levied about a certain land holdings but not sure about it.
what else have i left?

The agri sector is still in the dark from what I have heard, no one's discussing it.

Another thing is that the prices of CNG are expected to be increased so as to discourage it's use on vehicles.

Then as you said, vehicle withholding tax is good.

What more steps could be taken to bring the rich into the tax net?

 

[SBD-3]

The agri sector is still in the dark from what I have heard, no one's discussing it.

Another thing is that the prices of CNG are expected to be increased so as to discourage it's use on vehicles.

Then as you said, vehicle withholding tax is good.

What more steps could be taken to bring the rich into the tax net?

Real estate tax on sale of real estate and tax on real estate rentals to bring that sector into tax net too.

 

[A.Rafay]

Put taxes on wadera land Lords! Tax on their land, houses, farmhouses, livestock, agricultural products and their vehicles including tractors in their fields!

 

[Jango]

GST to be increased from 16% to 17%.

 

[Jango]

Pension to be increased by 10%...proposal of reducing development and defence budget has been rejected.

 

[Zarvan]

Pension to be increased by 10%...proposal of reducing development and defence budget has been rejected.

defence budget is now 627 billion rupees we need to end corruption and end corruption off pia railway and steel mill and in other segments well nawaz tour off Saudi Arabia would also clear several things

 

[Sugarcane]

GST to be increased from 16% to 17%.

Again indirect taxation - In other words tax poor people to death

 

[Amaa'n]

sales tax on vehicles upto 1200cc is waived. for 1201 - 1800cc tax has been waived off upto 50% and vehicles over 1800 25% tax is waived.....this is for hybrid vehicles only. again a good move to discourage people from using cng

 

[Amaa'n]

laptop scheme throughout the country ......internship for students with16 years of education. Cigarette pe duty zaida.....

 

[Edevelop]

Nawaz Sharif reduces expenses of Prime Minister house by over 40%. It will benefit upto 50,000 people

 

[Jango]

I am no economic expert so I'll keep my comments limited.

1- No duty on solar and wind powered equipment, this is a good step IMO, it would encourage alternative energy sources.

2- The youth program, giving them one year job in government department and other such incentives.

3- Continuing the income support program and getting Benazir off of it.

4-Introducing some form of money saving measures, the austerity measures in the PM house and abolition of secret funds.

5- The withholding tax and other things on cars, and the abolition of duty on 1200cc hybrids and lowering of duty on greater cc cars.

6- Economic zones and Gwadar plans.

7- 1000 housing schemes consisting of 500 houses each.

8- People's work program

The bad:

1- Still no tax net on the agriculture sector.

2- Neither real estate

3- The same old case goes that the affluent get away with the taxes, while poor people get milk and sugar prices increased. 17% GST on milk FFS, milk that we make here! Thatcher Thatcher milk snatcher...remember?

4- The laptop scheme. Instead of doling out money on this stupid scheme, make a IT lab in colleges and unis or a public library with that money.

All in all, the budget has it's goods and bads. The perception I am getting from media is that except a few money saving measures here and there, the budget is largely the same, with increased taxes for the poor and middle class while the affluent get away with it.

I've said it before, the government will have to take hard hitting measures, but not only on one class of people, they have to be across the board.

The good steps mentioned are those on which we'll have to wait to see if they are implemented, like those housing schemes and youth programs.