SAARC Chamber’s VP terms budget balanced, business-friendly

LAHORE, Apr 28 (APP):SAARC Chamber of Commerce and Industry (SAARC-CCI) Vice President and United Business Group (UBG) Chairman Iftikhar Ali Malik here on Saturday said that the federal government, in the given circumstances, has presented an overall business-friendly and balanced budget for the financial year 2018-19.
Talking to APP, he said that the federal government had in its last budget took commendable iniatives like removal of Regulatory Duty on important raw materials, increase in development budget, limit enhancement for income tax exemption, allocations for agriculture and livestock sectors.
In the current national and international predicament, he viewed, the government had made the budget document encouraging that would help boost business activities so as to increase employments and revenues in the country. “Despite continuous surge in dollar price against rupee, still the budget is growth-oriented with good fiscal management paving way for economic stability of the country in the long run,” he observed.
Malik also hailed federal government for ensuring allocating maximum funds for water and power projects as well as infrastructural development, asserting that refunds, agriculture support fund and composite audit were welcoming steps.