Sarhad Business Alliance rejects federal budget

PESHAWAR: Sarhad Business Alliance, Hayatabad Industrialists Association, Peshawar Chamber of Small Traders and Industry and other business community representatives in KP on Monday rejected the federal budget as anti-traders and anti-masses.

Sarhad Business Alliance Chairman Syed Zahir Ali Shah, Sarhad Chamber of Commerce and Industry former president Sharafat Ali Mubarak and others warned the government that if the budgetary measures were implemented, it would close all the industries in the country and commercial activities would come to a standstill.

They said such policies would create chaos and lawlessness in the country.The business community representatives advised the government to take corrective measures before the situation went out of control.They said the government should have taken steps to strengthen the business community in the country but that was not done while making the budget.

The speakers said that the electricity distribution system was worn out and that the country was lagging in this sector.They said the unbearable increase in the electricity tariffs and unjust taxes in all sectors would ultimately make the country anti-investment.

The speakers said that the government was going to implement Rs2500 as a fixed charge per kilowatt which, they feared, would close down all industries in the country.

They said that Rs1000 per domestic meter tax was also being implemented, adding that the masses were already suffering from inflation, unemployment and lawlessness.The business community representatives said they were paying Rs500 per kilowatt earlier which would amount to Rs 1.6 million and that would now reach Rs 8 million.

They said that the government wanted industrialists to pay taxes even if their units could not run due to heavy taxation.Syed Zahir Ali Shah and others said that the general export and jewelry tax had been raised from one percent to 29 percent which was an injustice.