Speaking at a news conference following the budget, Chief Minister Murad claimed that PPP chairman Bilawal Bhutto’s housing project, which attempts to give Sindhis access to inexpensive houses, is a success.
The federal government has not yet paid its part of Rs 100 billion to the plan, while the Sindh government has already disbursed Rs 25 billion. CM Murad Ali Shah claimed that the pledges made in writing had not been kept and voiced unhappiness over the federal government’s hold-up in disbursing cash.
The Sindh government has made great strides in a number of areas, including education, where Rs 519 billion has been granted, despite the obstacles. The chief minister also declared that the province government has accelerated over 4,000 programs, including 772, and raised the pay of public servants.
He stated “We are not getting our due share from the federal government”. We are supporting the federal government, but not part of it” CM Murad Ali Shah added.
Yesterday, CM Murad unveiled the Rs 3.056 trillion provincial budget for the fiscal year 2024–25, along with a proposal by the Sindh government to raise the normal rate of Sindh Sales Tax (SST) by two percent.
The chief minister announced at the budget presentation that although a 2 percent rise in the SST was planned, the exemptions and lower SST rates would still be in place.
Read more: Sindh Budget 2024-25 to be Announced on June 14
It was suggested that the SST rate for restaurant services where clients pay with digital methods like debit/credit cards, mobile wallets, QR scanning, etc. be lowered to 8% in order to encourage the digitalization of the economy. It is proposed to grant them an input tax credit of up to 18 percent, rather than the current 17 percent, in order to promote telecom services that pay a high rate of 19.5 percent SST but use input items that are subject to Federal Sales Tax of up to 18 percent (previously 17 percent). This was stated by the chief minister. The province of Sindh’s government declared that 2.6 million households would receive free solar panels.
According to the chief minister, the distribution of solar home systems and the advancement of clean energy access will be the primary goals of the Rs 25 billion allotted over the course of five years.
In accordance with the Pakistan People’s Party, “We will provide free solar systems,” he continued.