ISLAMABAD - Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) has started pressing PPP to incorporate its maximum budgetary proposals in the budget during the 42nd session of the National Assembly that would start from Monday (4th June).
The MQM, a couple of days before the presentation of federal budget 2012-13, has proposed a shadow federal budget of Rs 36.1 trillion for the year 2012-2013. The coalition partner in its proposals seeks to cut budget deficit by nearly 50 pc by generating Rs 400 billion through the same existing direct and indirect taxes.
“Muttahida will make all-out efforts to incorporate its budgetary proposals which it indicated in its shadow budget during the upcoming debate,” said MQM central leader Haider Abbas Rizvi talking to TheNation.
Sharing their main focus in upcoming budgetary debate, the MQM leader said that there is dire need to focus on education, agriculture tax, spread discounts rate of banks and others. Rizvi said that there was need to curtail spread discount rate from 12 per cent to 10 per cent for economic stability.
Talking about agriculture tax, the MQM leader said that albeit it is difficult to impose proper agriculture tax in existing 70 percent parliamentarians are related with agriculture business but Muttahida will keep raising its voice to incorporate their proposal to provide ease to masses.
Political analysts assumed that that since this would be the last budget of the ruling alliance to be followed by general elections, the MQM will try to incorporate its maximum proposals being its important coalition partners.
It is relevant to mention here that MQM in its own budget proposals seeks to utilise Rs 190 billion, which the MQM leaders believed were allocated by the Federal government in the annual budget for the year 2011-2012 but have not made it accountable.
Similarly, the MQM proposed to cut the existing non-development expenditures by 30 per cent in order to give relief to masses by diverting the savings to development expenditures for job creation opportunities in the industrial sector and to subsidise the daily items of common use such as flour, rice, pulses, meat, milk and edible oil.