KARACHI - Trade leaders demanded the government to increase budgetary allocations for health, education and jobs opportunities, bring the wealthy class into the tax net and take concrete steps to get rid of International Monetary Fund (IMF) programmes.Speakers were addressing a pre-budget seminar organised by the Institute of International Auditors Pakistan here on Tuesday. They agreed to the need of cutting down on non-development expenditure and bringing about comprehensive reforms in the tax regime of the country, dubbing it highly repressive, rigorous and iniquitous.Expressing their views in the seminar, the speakers said that Pakistan’s biggest problems are ignorance, lawlessness, energy crisis, extremism, corruption and terrorism and how pro-people budget could surface in these circumstances. Loadshedding has taken a heavy toll on the industry with mass unemployment.The govt was printing currency to the tune of over Rs one billion on daily basis, which contributed to rising inflation in the country and the masses have fallen victim to misplaced consumerism and lavish spending and the banks had set high mark-up rates, as long as we did not distinguish between need and luxury, our predicaments would never end. They highlighted the need of cutting down non-development expenditure and work out effective privatisation policy to remove the dead wood, which is a big burden on national exchequer.Those who spoke on the seminar included Shabbar Zaidi (former President ICAP) , Attique Ur Rehman (Chair Banking & Finance Committee KCCI) , Ali A Rahim (Former President Income Tax Bar Association), Zaki Ahmed (Commissioner Income tax) , Zulfikar Thaver (President UNISAME), M Asif Siddiqui (President IIAP-Karachi Chapter).