Budget Offers Little to Build National Capital
The interim government has presented its first nationwide spending plan, potentially the last under this setup.
Due to the shortage in direct tax revenues, the revenue authority remains excessively reliant on indirect taxes, creating extra burdens. Unless reforms are made to simplify compliance, expand the tax base, lower tax rates, and protect honest taxpayers from disproportionate concerns, national capital development will remain a distant dream. Successive governments have shied away from thinking beyond the box and have failed to lower tax rates or innovatively expand the tax base.
Many businesses prefer to stay outside the formal tax web, often manipulating figures to avoid the high tax burden. Due to the shortage in direct tax earnings, the revenue authority remains highly dependent on indirect taxes, creating additional burdens. Unless reforms are made to simplify compliance, widen the tax base, lower tax rates, and protect honest taxpayers from disproportionate concerns, national capital formation will remain a remote dream. Succeeding governments have shied away from thinking beyond the box and have failed to lower tax rates or innovatively expand the tax base. Saying goodbye to a culture of tax waivers, rewarding higher tax payments at the individual level, and maintaining better expenditure discipline could have set us on a stronger course.
