On Saturday, Dr Muhammad Hanif Mughal, the Chairman of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Shadbad, stated that the budget should relieve the masses rather than burden the average person more. He added that since inflation has broken the people’s backs and they can no longer bear more burden, collecting taxes from the elite should now begin.

Addressing the party workers, Dr Hanif Mughal said that the present government has only increased the burden on the people to increase revenue. To increase revenue, the government targets the masses, the salaried class, and pensioners, but without taxing the elites, the country will continue to struggle for survival and never achieve the desired results.

Hanif Mughal suggested taxing the non-taxpayers and minor taxpayers properly. They include wholesalers, landlords, stock market brokers, the property mafia, and other sectors. He claimed that despite the country’s impending bankruptcy, the elites continue to enjoy privileges worth more than eighteen hundred billion rupees, which is astounding. He observed that statements cannot deceive the people, nor can authorities hide their weaknesses through promises.

He said the masses want a better budget, as they will need more than continuing the old budget to be acceptable. To meet the budget deficit on the IMF’s demand, the government has to eliminate tax exemptions in many sectors; otherwise, it will not get more loans from international organisations.

The deficit in the energy sector alone has exceeded 2400 billion rupees, increasing by 325 billion rupees in the first seven months of this financial year. A proposal to collect an advance tax from the auto sector, which will be 10% of the vehicle’s value, is being considered. A proposal to eliminate the advance tax for filers making external credit card payments is also being considered, and non-filers are subject to a 20% tax. The withholding tax rate for non-filers on cash withdrawals can be nine per cent, up from the previous six per cent, which will impact individuals and businesses.

The government has decided to raise the tax rate to 30 per cent for non-filers with commercial or industrial electricity and gas connections, which will impede economic development.

He suggested increasing salaries in the budget to help people deal with the rising cost of living and strengthening the agriculture sector to ensure food security for the nation.

Hanif Mughal advocated improving agriculture supply chain management to decrease post-harvest losses and boost market accessibility. He demanded enhanced access to credit and insurance facilities for farmers to mitigate risks and invest in their operations.