Time
to increase our defense budget!
March 12, 2019
If we have learnt one thing from the threats to destroy
Pakistan by Indian leaders and media persons, it is this: we have to strengthen
our defense capability. And for this we have to increase our defense budget by
at least twenty five percent immediately.
To give you an idea of how low our defense expenditure
is, consider that Turkey spends twice the amount that we do on defense, despite
having a population of only 80 million (compared to Pakistan’s 207 million). To
put it simply, on an average every Pakistani contributes Rs. 500 per month to
the defense budget, while every Turkish citizen pays Rs.2,500 per month for the
defense of his country. This, despite the fact that Turkey does not have any
external foes, while we have an enemy who has only one aim in life: to destroy
Pakistan. Even in a small country like Switzerland (with no external enemies) every
citizen has to pay the equivalent of Rs. 65,000 every month for its military!
We should be ashamed of the reluctance of our people to pay taxes.
So it is vitally necessary for us to increase military
spending. However, in Pakistan, it’s the tax evaders (smugglers and other such
looters) who are so powerful that no government has so far been able to recover
full taxes from them. The only way to strengthen the military (and the country)
is to increase the defense budget. But, as we have seen, the government is
unable to raise the required revenue. In fact, the government is thinking of giving
another amnesty scheme for tax evaders, despite Imran Khan having opposed such
amnesties when he was in opposition. As for smugglers, they are the sacred cows
who cannot be touched, even though they are responsible for the closure of
hundreds of industries and loss of employment. I suppose we should be thankful
that our lawmakers have so far not amended the Constitution to legalize
smuggling!
So the only way to increase national revenue is by
imposing indirect taxes without imposing a heavy burden on the poor. By levying
a tax of Rs. 20 per kilo of sugar, the government can raise a hundred billion
rupees in a year. Similarly, a defense surcharge of just Rs. 20 per gallon (Rs.
5 per litre) of crude oil at the import stage can yield another hundred billion
rupees a year. As crude oil is used to make many products besides petrol and
diesel, this levy can be spread in such a way that prices of petrol and diesel
do not increase by more than a rupee per liter.
I know that increasing electricity and gas charges will
be opposed, rather it will benefit those who indulge in gas and electricity
theft, but as we are fighting for our very survival, we should not hesitate to
offer a small sacrifice. I would suggest a rupee per unit of electricity to raise
revenue by another hundred billion. A similar levy of a rupee per cubic meter
of gas can be considered, which will give us fifty billion rupees.
Smugglers and property sector crooks have successfully
evaded efforts to tax them. However, it should not be forgotten that these
unscrupulous people have houses and offices. To give you just one example of
tax evasion by them and others like them, there are five million businesses in
Pakistan, out of which only a hundred thousand are registered with the sales
tax authorities. One way of taxing these tax evaders is to increase the penalty
on cash withdrawals by non-filers to one percent for every fifty thousand
rupees. Another measure would be to tax them according to the floor area of
their houses, shops and offices. A tax of just ten paisas a day for every
square foot of the floor area of all shops, offices and houses should yield more
than fifty billion rupees every year, if not more (small shops and houses of
widows may be exempted).
All the above mentioned steps should be taken immediately
to raise an additional five hundred billion rupees every year for the defense
of the motherland. Tax evaders and smugglers should be thankful that it is
Pakistan which has made them rich, so it’s time for them to contribute to the
defense of the nation.
Daily Times, March 12, 2019
https://dailytimes.com.pk/364094/time-to-increase-our-defense-budget/
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