Chief Minister Sindh Syed Murad Ali Shah has said that the provincial government has witnessed a shortfall of Rs104 billion in the federal transfers this year. “This declining trend is bound to affect our cash flow and development endeavor.” This he said on Monday while talking to media just after attending National Community Convention organized by HANDS at Gadap. To a question, the chief minister said that this year the federal government has transferred Rs104 billion less than the share of the provincial government. “Last year the federal government had transferred Rs266 billion during the first seven months and this year they have transferred only Rs256 billion,” he further said that in the history of Pakistan, it was for the first time that the federal transfers have come down than the previous year. Murad Shah said that last year in January 2018, the federal government had transferred Rs56 billion and this year [in January] they have transferred only Rs38 billion, he said and added this declining trend was dangerous and would affect our commitments, cash flows and development portfolio badly. “I was moving fast on the development of the province but looking at the federal transfer trend, I have stopped development endeavor,” he deplored. He said that he had heard the federal government badly failing to achieve its revenue collection targets was now planning to take away provincial government’s authority of collecting agriculture, GST on goods and other taxes. Shah said that the provincial government during the track record of last five years has shown a 22 percent increase in its revenue collections annually while the federal government could only show an eight percent increase. “Instead of appreciating and giving rewards to the provincial government, the federal government was planning to take away the power of the provincial government of collecting taxes falling under its domain,” he said. “If the powers of collection of all the taxes go under the command of the federal government what will happen with national and provincial exchequers can only be imagined,” he said. The chief minister said that the provincial government can collect taxes in a better way than the federal government because the provincial governments were close to the consumers. “I am of the opinion that the power of collection of sales tax should be given to the provinces completely,” he said. Replying to another question, the chief minister said that his government would shortly release arrears of media houses with the condition to give outstanding salaries to their employees. He added that PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari during his visit to Karachi Press Club last week had assured the newsmen that he worked hard to resolve their issues of unemployment, retrenchment and the issues of freedom of expression and speech which he had termed his problems. Published in Daily Times, February 5th 2019.