Bijli, gas, paani or awami tankha par mazeed tax...
Bijli, gas, paani or awami tankha par mazeed tax...
Category
🗞
NewsTranscript
00:00No one asked about the salaried class and this was the class that used to pay the most taxes.
00:05Now there are two parts to this.
00:07One part is the government employees whose salary is increased by 15-20% every year with the budget income.
00:14So they are still relatively better in this regard.
00:18However, I still say that there should be an increase in salary in two ways.
00:21One is inflation based and the other is performance based.
00:24Then there are private employees.
00:26Private employees' salary is usually increased when they are being transferred from one institution to another.
00:32Or when the owners are asked to increase their salaries.
00:37And?
00:38On top of that, on an annual basis, the tax that is imposed on them is increased every year.
00:44The increase is as severe as the rest.
00:46And the government employees also take pensions later.
00:50But those who work in private institutions do not get any pension.
00:53What is happening now?
00:55Because it is very easy to impose taxes on the salaried class.
00:58Because they only get their salary when the amount deducted from their salary.
01:03The worst thing about this is that you are subject to double taxation.
01:07After your tax-free income, whatever expenses you will incur, you will have to pay sales tax, ID taxes.
01:16Indirect taxes.
01:17Indirect taxes. Electricity, water, everything is taxed.
01:20Except for breathing, everything else is taxed.
01:23Even underground water has been taxed.
01:25This issue has been raised.
01:27It has also been protested in small and big cities like Karachi and Islamabad.
01:31And the tax imposed on the salaried class has been declared a crime.
01:35More taxes have been imposed.
01:37And now it is that in the last financial year, the salaried class paid a tax of Rs. 264 crore out of Rs. 1874 crore.
01:43And then what will happen on this?
01:47We have with us a member of the Salaried Class Alliance, Wahaj Siraj.
01:52Thank you so much, Wahaj Siraj.
01:54And believe me, you seem like a fresh breeze to us.
01:58Because we used to say that everyone has a say in their own affairs.
02:04And especially those in power, they have a say in matters that are not related to the salaried class.
02:11So thank you very much for raising this issue.
02:15So what are your demands?
02:18Please repeat this a little.
02:21And then what has been proposed so far?
02:24The demand is very simple.
02:27The demand is that the salaried class, which is approximately 40 to 50 lakh people in Pakistan.
02:34And the family that is associated with them.
02:37The Zalmana tax has increased three times in the last four years.
02:43That is, it has increased three times.
02:45It is increasing by 75% every year.
02:47And the minimum wage at this time is going to be approximately Rs. 37,000 per month.
02:53Which is called a minimum wage.
02:57And if you have a salary of Rs. 50,000, then this tax starts from there.
03:03And for the last three years, this minimum limit has not been increased from Rs. 50,000.
03:08We are saying that by increasing this minimum limit from Rs. 50,000,
03:12at least according to inflation, it should be increased to Rs. 100,000.
03:15The salaried class, which has been paying taxes with great care for decades,
03:19the burden of taxes should be reduced on it.
03:21We are not saying that the salaried class does not want to pay taxes.
03:23It is a single fort that pays taxes.
03:25And in Pakistan, it is the law that whoever is obeying the law should be suppressed more.
03:29And whoever is not obeying the law, should be left open.
03:34So those classes that do not pay taxes, which have many other classes,
03:39you should pay taxes on them, not on the salaried class, which is an educated class.
03:44And today's youth say that they do not want to work in this country.
03:47It is easy, isn't it, Mr. Siraj?
03:48It is easy to impose taxes on them.
03:50Now tell me, you protested, we saw.
03:52Do you think this protest will go further?
03:55Will there be any effect?
03:57What is the mechanism?
03:59What can be done so that the salaried class can tell its situation,
04:04that this is our situation, and someone should act on it?
04:07Our situation is such that at this time,
04:11a person of an Austin salaried class can only pay the electricity bill.
04:18Electricity must be so expensive.
04:21So now we are moving forward with this protest,
04:25we are asking the government, we are asking the parliamentarians,
04:30that the salaried class that is moving this country forward,
04:34listen to its voice, you should also listen to its voice.
04:38The people who are sitting in Iwano at the moment,
04:41sitting in power, sitting in disagreement,
04:43they should listen to our voice.
04:45But Mr. Wahid, there is a divide in this too, isn't it?
04:49As I mentioned at the beginning,
04:51when government employees come,
04:54government workers come,
04:56their priorities and thoughts are different.
04:58Because one is job security.
05:00The second thing is that their salary increases every year.
05:03In the private sector, you also know very well what the method is.
05:06Either you are getting a good opportunity, then you will think.
05:10Or it is that after 6-7 years,
05:12after 5 years, after 4 years, after 3 years, someone thought.
05:15And that too is an increment based on inflation,
05:18and that too is an increment based on performance.
05:20This is not taken care of either.
05:22So there are a lot of problems.
05:24So how will you reduce that divide and move forward?
05:27Look at this divide,
05:29and this salaried class,
05:31in this, the private sector employees,
05:35I think those employees should come together.
05:38We have no issue with government employees,
05:41there is no divide.
05:43But the government spends,
05:45there is a lot of objection to that expenditure.
05:48Government employees,
05:50as the news was coming yesterday,
05:52that President Iwane's grass bill is 6 crore rupees a year.
05:58That is, the bill to water the grass is 6 crore rupees.
06:02And this is the income of our taxes.
06:05Put this income in a good place,
06:08put it on the poor,
06:10put it in schools, put it in health,
06:12and the salaried class should come together
06:15and move this cause forward,
06:17and raise this voice,
06:19and run this movement peacefully,
06:22so that the government is forced to change its decision.
06:25But the government's position is also this,
06:27I was listening to a minister's conversation on television,
06:30he was saying, how many people are there?
06:32You tell me,
06:33those who have a salary of one lakh and above,
06:35after all, what is their number?
06:37So they can afford it,
06:39that's why we have imposed taxes on them.
06:41Others say that we have to collect taxes,
06:47and we will gradually increase the tax net,
06:51but we have to start somewhere.
06:53So the government has to fulfill its expenses.
06:55Who is the easy target?
06:57The salaried class.
06:59The number of private employees of the salaried class
07:03is approximately 40 to 50 lakh in Pakistan.
07:06It is very high.
07:08All these educated, lower middle class people,
07:12their numbers are very high.
07:14We are not saying that you should raise the tax net.
07:16We have been demanding for many years
07:18to raise the tax net,
07:20to impose taxes on farmers,
07:22to impose taxes on retailers,
07:24and to impose taxes on the rich class,
07:26the class that avoids taxes.
07:28And secondly,
07:30the situation is that
07:32your money has unfortunately become useless.
07:36For example, if the purchasing power was 1 lakh,
07:38now it is 61,000.
07:40If you earn 1 lakh,
07:42your purchasing power is 61,000,
07:44and 49,000 have disappeared.
07:46Secondly,
07:48if you are taxed,
07:50the next tax is indirect tax.
07:52That indirect tax kills you even more.
07:54What is the third thing that kills you?
07:56That wherever you go in the neighborhood,
07:58you don't have the mechanism of price control.
08:02So the shopkeepers,
08:04you know that they are not paying taxes,
08:06but they are still getting what they want.
08:08So a person who is doing a white collar job,
08:10there is no one to question him.
08:12And his self-respect is being destroyed.
08:14So there are many issues that are facing.
08:18It is like this.
08:20And the government is now doing this,
08:24to increase the taxes so much
08:26that people start hiding that tax.
08:28All over the world,
08:30the non-compliant sectors are given government incentives
08:32that they are in the compliant sector.
08:34Here it is happening that the compliant sector
08:36is being squeezed so much
08:38that they will now go towards non-compliance.
08:40And they will go to a grey market.
08:42That is, now the employees demand
08:44that you give us the salary in cash,
08:46not in our account,
08:48so that you don't cut our tax.
08:50So when this process starts,
08:52the whole country's system will end.
08:54And what would you say about this?
08:56Look, there are policies of poverty eradication
08:58all over the country.
09:00Here your middle class
09:02is being pushed towards poverty.
09:04The upper middle class
09:06is being brought down.
09:08So the government creates wealth.
09:10It gives incentives to wealthy people.
09:12Do you agree with this policy?
09:14Obviously, the class is also being crushed.
09:16The economy is also not
09:18booming too much.
09:20It is not visible.
09:22Exactly like this.
09:24The economy is actually going down in the long term.
09:26Increase the tax net.
09:28The people who are paying taxes
09:30with honesty,
09:32give them facilities.
09:34Give them incentives.
09:36And the people who are not paying taxes,
09:38you bring them to the tax net.
09:40Increase the tax net.
09:42The class that is paying one tax,
09:44don't suck its blood so much
09:46that there is no life left in it
09:48and it dies.
09:50Is there any hope that
09:52as a result of this protest,
09:54your voice will be heard or not?
09:56Or will there be a protest
09:58and people will say,
10:00who will listen to them?
10:02Their salaries are more than Rs. 50,000.
10:04So they can afford.
10:06I think this voice
10:08should be raised together.
10:10All the salaried class,
10:12from small to big,
10:14should be a part of this movement.
10:16Peacefully.
10:18I think this is the only movement
10:20that will be non-political,
10:22that will come from the middle class
10:24that will be the basis
10:26of a sustainable change in this country
10:28that is not a change in politics and power.
10:30It is a change in the grassroots
10:32that the people will stand up
10:34for their rights,
10:36for their citizens' rights,
10:38and will force the government
10:40to listen to their voice and act on it.
10:42How long has it been
10:44since your alliance was formed?
10:46Was it formed after the budget
10:48or were you already working on it?
10:50Our alliance was formed last year.
10:52Last year, when the tax was imposed,
10:54even after that,
10:56it was such a shock that we tolerated it.
10:58This time, the shock broke our back.
11:00Exactly.
11:02Thank you so much.
11:04Let's hope for the best.
11:06That is the basic thing.