Masses reject RGST, flood surcharge

KARACHI – Various political parties’ activists and civil society organisations have demanded of the government to bring agriculture into tax net except small farmers who own small piece of agriculture land.
In the wake of tabling of Reformed General Sales Tax (RGST) and one-time flood surcharge bills in National Assembly and Senate, the debate to bring agriculture into tax net is speeding-up in the country. The majority of people are opposing the demand to increase agriculture tax, arguing that agri-sector was already beneath of burden of different kind of taxes, while others especially urban based political parties and civil society activists emphasizing to impose further levy on agriculture sector.
In this regard, Comrade Ramzan Memon of Awami Party while talking to TheNation on Saturday said that instead of talking about increasing tax on agriculture sector, we should be specific to the feudal lords because majority of area of agriculture land own by small farmers, who already deprived of basic facilities and water share. He emphasized that small farmers must be exempted of every kind of tax, as they already paying different kinds of Abiana, water tax and agriculture income tax.He demanded that government should initiate dialogue on the issue to reach on a consensus point, beside launching a drive to get back of loans from big industrialists and politicians who got waived off since the creation of Pakistan.
Meanwhile, supporting the demand of imposing tax on big feudal lords, rights activist Adam Malik argued in support of small farmers.
He said that income tax applied if net annual income of any person was Rs300,000 per annum and GST applies if business turn over is Rs7,500,000/- per annum but it is evident that more than 6.6 million small farmers in Pakistan do not earn such big amounts.
Sharing the statistics, he said that out of 50.42 million acres private landownership in Pakistan (including cultivable and non-cultivable) the 5.48 million acres land is owned in farm size of 100 acre or above that becomes around 10% be it 100 acres or be it acres in thousands as we know some of feudal lords individually own over 19,132-acre land, however, remaining about 45 million acres of land that becomes around 90% is owned by small farmers ranging from 1 acre to 99 acres.