As the budget season is around the corner, it is time when every member (of the assembly) matters a lot. In a big blunder during Thursday’s National Assembly session, the government faced a major setback when it failed to pass the important Income Tax (Amendment) Bill 2024. The opposition, mainly from PTI, cleverly used the rules to block the bill and exposed the government’s poor planning.
Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb brought the bill for approval, but the government lost the vote 67-32. That’s when PTI members realised they could stop the bill by pointing out the lack of quorum – a rule that needs at least 84 members to be present. They quickly walked out, leaving one member behind to raise the issue.
The deputy speaker tried to fix the problem, even pausing the session to gather more members. But not only did the government fail to bring in 17 more members, the number of lawmakers in the house dropped even further. Finally, the session was adjourned without passing the bill or the other five on the agenda.
This situation highlights how poorly prepared the government was. Losing such a crucial vote and failing to ensure a quorum shows clear mismanagement.
Even worse, the bill itself is quite controversial. It was earlier enforced through an ordinance, which is now about to expire. This means the government must pass it quickly, but their lack of coordination has backfired.
The bill aims to “fix” problems in tax collection, especially on income from federal securities. But it’s worsening the burden on ordinary taxpayers, who are already facing high taxes and a broken taxation system. Instead of offering relief, the government keeps piling on taxes without fixing the basics.
In short, this tax trouble shows how flawed the system is and how out of touch the government remains with people’s real struggles. *