Govt criticised for mini-budget

KARACHI: The Pakistan Petroleum Dealers Association (PPDA) strongly criticised the mini-budget announced by the finance minster to collect additional revenue of Rs40 billion to meet the International Monitory Fund (IMF) target, according to a statement on Tuesday.
The government has imposed additional regulatory duty, new taxes and federal excise duty on 289 items, it said. "Any short fall in revenue could have been met by curtailing unproductive expenditures and broadening the tax net," said the association chairman Abdul Sami Khan.
Khan said that the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) government had promised not to announce any mini-budget and to ensure consistency in its policies. However, it has announced mini-budget in less than five months after the annual budget. The government has itself negated its own policy. He said that that this would kick-start a new round of price hike in the country and affect the purchasing power of the common man.
He also criticised the government for not reducing prices of petroleum products in line with downward trend in the international oil prices.