ISLAMABAD: On the floor of the National Assembly, Finance Minister Ishaq Dar responded to the three-day protests against new taxes imposed outside the budget, including a higher General Sales Tax (GST) on petroleum products.
However, he refused to bow to even a softened opposition agenda, leading to a fourth walkout in a row. All opposition parties have been demanding that the government withdraw, or seek parliamentary approval of up to 27 per cent increase in the GST on petroleum products from 17 per cent — in two instalments of five per cent each — since December and the recent five per cent increase by the Economic Coordination Committee of the Cabinet in regulatory duty on importable items.
He rejected the opposition charge of bypassing parliament, and said the nearly two-year-old government of the Pakistan Muslim League-N had only used powers it enjoyed under existing laws such as the Sales Tax Act of 1990s and had followed what he said had rightly been done by previous governments as well to meet revenue shortfalls, as was the case now due to a sharp fall in global oil prices and the resulting reduction in GST revenues.
