PaK presents ` 68 bn tax free budget

The budget proposes Rs 56.5 billion for non-developmental or recurring expenditures and Rs 11.5 billion including a foreign aid of Rs 500 million, for the developmental activities.

The government expects income of Rs 47.097 billion – Rs 16.567 billion internal resources, Rs 780 million water use charges of Mangla, Rs 13 billion share of taxes generated from the PaK territory and Rs 16.75 billion share in federal taxes – during the next fiscal year and the gap between the income and expenditures – Rs 9.402 billion – will be bridged by the federal government.

However sources in the finance department were sceptical about claims regarding generation of Rs 47.097 billion during next year and predicted upsurge in the deficit like that of the current year.

In his almost 90-minute speech, which he delivered amid constant noisy desk thumping by the opposition, an undeterred finance minister asserted that the budget would lay the basis of a “new Kashmir and translate the dreams of the masses into reality.” He pointed out that under the settled policy of 1992, the development budget of PaK should have been increased by 14 per cent every year in accordance with the inflation rate. However, he regretted, PaK’s development budget had not been substantially enhanced since 2009. Nevertheless, he claimed, the government had executed record developmental activities within limited fiscal resources. The finance minister said the government also aimed to provide special training to 5000 people in the next fiscal year “backed by provision of interest free loans from the Bank of Azad Jammu and Kashmir to help them start their own businesses.” He declared that the PaK employees would also be given raise announced by the federal government from the same date and ratio.

[“source – greaterkashmir.com”]