(Roz Dunya News)
The National Assembly of Pakistan approved the Supplementary Finance Bill 2021 by a majority vote. Clause-wise approval of supplementary finance bill.
In the National Assembly on Thursday, the government presented the Money Budget or Supplementary Finance Bill 2021 for approval, which was passed by a majority.
Meanwhile, all the amendments proposed by the opposition were rejected. The opposition raised questions about the government.
Addressing the Finance Minister, PML-N National Assembly member and former Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi said, "Why did you need to present this budget?"
"Don't tell me which things will be expensive, but tell me which things will not be expensive," he said.
State Bank of Pakistan's Sovereignty Bill passed by majority vote
Meanwhile, the National Assembly has also passed the State Bank of Pakistan's Sovereignty Bill by a majority vote.
Opposition groups called for a boycott of the assembly. Opposition members chanted slogans in front of the speaker, during which government members gathered around Prime Minister Imran Khan.
Opposition members chanted "Go Imran Go" as a friend of the IMF.
The government has also made some amendments to the mini-budget. Finance Minister Shaukat Tareen said that milk, double bread, and juice would not be taxed. "Laptops are not being taxed either," he added.
Responding to a question raised by the opposition, Finance Minister Shaukat Tareen said, "The supplementary finance bill was introduced to document the economy. This will not be a burden on the common man. The opposition's outcry is baseless.
The finance minister also said that the earlier proposal to levy tax on solar panels and imported baby milk has also been scrapped.
According to the mini-budget document, 12.5 percent tax has been levied on imported vehicles and 2.5 percent on locally manufactured 1300 cc vehicles.
Local vehicles above 2000 cc are being taxed at 10%. Earlier, a five percent tax was proposed on these vehicles.
Sales tax on red pepper and iodized salt has been abolished. Even a 200 gram can of milk worth Rs. 500 will not be taxed.
It should be noted that on December 30, 2021, the draft of the supplementary finance bill called for the abolition of tax exemption on 42 items of daily use, including locally sold goods, bakery items, double bread and sweets, used in flights. These included edibles, branded poultry products, locally grown mustard, sesame seeds, sprinkles, drips, and spray pumps.
(Roz Dunya News)
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| According to Khalid Mustafa, GST is collected from the consumer, but the tax does not reach the FBR (File photo: AFP) |
"This government is in the grip of the IMF."
What difference can some amendments made by the government in the supplementary budget make to the life of the common man? In this regard, Khalid Mustafa, a senior journalist who keeps an eye on the economy, when contacted by Urdu News, said, “The Finance Minister has spoken of not imposing a tax on double bread even though it is already very expensive. The dollar exchange rate in the market is so high that people are buying more and more expensive things.
This government is in the grip of the IMF. They talk about documenting the economy, but the problem is that GST is collected from the consumer, but the tax does not reach the FBR. This is a system failure. Until that happens, there is no hope for improvement. "
"There is nothing for the people in this mini-budget," he said. He has spoken of not taxing laptops. Very few people use laptops and their price is already quite high. It will have no positive effect on the life of the common man.
It should be noted that when the bill was introduced by the government for approval, 14 members of the government and 10 members of the opposition were absent in the 342-member House, but the government was still in the majority with 168 members as against 150 members of the opposition. At present, the government has 182 members in the National Assembly while the Opposition has 160 members.
