Hafeez also underlined the need for practical steps towards bringing more people into the income tax net especially when people are reluctant to become the part of the tax regime because of the enforcement and administrative measure. The Minister said that existing system of bringing people into the tax net through issuance of notices takes too long to expand the tax base. Such proposals, he said are extended to those who may not want to become part of the tax net because of huge payment on their capital.
To a question that it appeared to be a politically motivated initiative to lift ban on induction of 26,000 people in various departments, he said that new jobs are not created and posts which were lying vacant since long are being filled. He said that another reasons for such a decision was that there is also unemployment in the country and government's responsibility is to reduce it by providing employment opportunities.
The Minister said that the finance ministry would ensure a balance between available fiscal space and the impact of jobs on the budget. He said that keeping in view the increasing importance of security agencies because of law and order situation in the country there is a need to recruit more people in the law enforcement agencies.
The Minister, on the issue of dolling out huge Rs 82 billion subsidy to the power sector in the first quarter of the current fiscal year against total allocation of Rs 134 billion for the entire year, said that the government was doing so to provide relief to the people. However, he did not reply to a question as to how much increase in subsidy would be if the current pace continued. The Minister also faced plethora of questions about the performance of the government to reform the power sector.
The Minister said that subsidy to the power sector was phenomenal during the last few years because of massive reliance on the thermal power generation that shifted the fuel mix. He said that diesel prices have increased and so was cost of the electricity which he maintained was not being passed on to the consumers. This is the reasons that the government has been extending subsidy to the power sector.