Unisame urges govt to follow principles of welfare state in the letter and spirit THE FINANCIAL DAILY 3rd January 2023

The Union of Small and Medium Enterprises (UNISAME) has reminded and urged the policy makers that the Islamic Republic of Pakistan as per its constitution is a welfare state and by virtue of this it is incumbent on the government to care and protect for its senior citizens, the aged, the widows, the orphans, the disabled and the family of the martyrs by making their lives comfortable.
President UNISAME Zulfikar Thaver said because of the super inflation it has become impossible for those with insufficient incomes to survive and they cannot eat one square meal a day.
The Unisame Council has stated that the tax exemption limit of Rs 600000 annual income is too little and needs to be revised to Rs 1200000 as exempted by Miftah Ismail during the time he was the financial advisor. It was a decision based on equity and justice and it is unfair to subject citizens below Income of Rs 1200000 to tax. The poverty line as admitted by the government is Rs 50000 per month.
Secondly senior citizens above the age of 75 years especially housewives and widows must be totally exempted from filing tax returns as almost all income they receive from bank profits, investments and dividends is subject to withholding tax. Filing returns is very worrisome and bothersome for the aged..
Thirdly, the investment limit of Rs 5 million for senior citizens, widows and martyrs’ families must be increased to Rs 10 million to enable them to live comfortably in such circumstances.
It is pertinent to note that they need a reasonable income now that medicines and medical care and in fact all expenses have increased due to very high inflation.

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