Lawmakers from the opposition benches in the National Assembly on Friday asked the government to incorporate the recommendations presented by the Senate, the Upper House of the Parliament, in the federal budget 2021-22 aimed at achieving real growth and providing relief to the common man.
Participating in the budget debate, Members National Assembly (MNAs) Rana Tanveer Hussain, Shahida Rehmani, Marriyum Aurangzeb, Moulana Abdul Akbar Chitrali, Syed Hussain Tariq, Shahid Khaqan Abbasi, Mohsin Dawar , Shahida Akhtar Ali, Hina Rabbani Khar, Dr. Aisha Ghaus Pasha, Mohammad Hashim Notezai,Shazia Marri appreciated Senators for making positive recommendations and said inclusion of these in the next fiscal plan would be beneficial for both the masses and the government.
The other days, the Senate approved 114 recommendations, on the Finance Bill 2021-22 which was forwarded to the National Assembly for consideration including 20 percent increase in pension and basic pay of the government employees besides increasing the retirement age to 62 years.
It also recommended enhancing minimum wages of labourers to Rs 25,000 per month for the Islamabad Capital Territory.
The House recommended to the National Assembly that withholding tax on the health
care sector should be reduced from 8 percent to 3 percent and general sales tax exemption should be restored up to the extent of edible items which are part and parcel of the daily life of the common man of the country.
The Senate also suggested that a fresh National Finance Commission (NFC) award be announced in terms of Article 160 of the Constitution.
The Upper House also advised that indirect taxation should be reduced and no further increase should be made in the petroleum levy.
Senate also asked that sufficient funds be allocated in the Fiscal Year 2021-22 for erstwhile FATA/PATA as elaborated in the 25th amendment and promised by the federal government to reduce the grievances of the people of the area.
The upper house also recommended that the budget for health and education sectors should be doubled.
It suggested an allocation be made for the provision of interest-free loans to help small farmers with regard to the escalating cost of agriculture inputs including seeds.
The House also advised that an allocation be made for a special pay package and training in public health care for paramedical staff and nurses performing their services during the COVID19 pandemic.
It recommended that higher education institutions should be funded additionally so that they may equip themselves with the latest IT and LMS systems for teaching online classes in any discipline.
The Senate asked that young entrepreneurs aged 18 to 25 may be given more incentives in terms of taxes and bank loans for setting up manufacturing units.
Furthermore, the Senate recommended that General Sales Tax should be reduced to 8.5 percent from 17 percent.
The House recommended that to restore zero-rating on milk and fortified dairy-based nutritious powder and restoration of previous sales tax of 10% on value-added dairy-based products.
The Senate suggested that the raw materials required for local manufacturing of welding electrode products must also be included in the 5th schedule.
It proposed that to facilitate the construction industry, contractors may be allowed to make payments in cash to the supplies of material and labour.
