ISLAMABAD - The government is charging massive taxes on petrol and diesel from the masses in order to run its own expenditures, Opposition Leader in the National Assembly Syed Khursheed Shah said this while talking to media at the Parliament House on Thursday. He said that the government should charge taxes but should not put excessive burden on poor masses.
He said that per liter price of petrol should be Rs40 as against the current price of Rs73.76. Similarly, he said that per liter price of diesel should be Rs39 against the existing cost of Rs82. “All other charges on these two petroleum products except Rs40 per liter go into the government’s revenue,” he added.
He said that Ch Nisar used to term the petroleum levy “Jagga Tax” when he was the opposition leader during the tenure of Pakistan People’s Party (PPP).
Talking about the collection of taxes, the opposition leader said that government is collecting Rs1.15 billion taxes/duties on diesel and Rs580 million on petrol daily. He demanded of the government to procure cotton, potatoes and rice from the farmers in order to save them from huge financial losses. “The government should fix cotton price in the range of Rs3,000 to Rs4,000 per 40kg,” he added.