WITH the ruling PML-N’s next budget unfolding large infrastructure schemes, and expenditure focusing on service delivery, social protection, relief and subsidies, Punjab appears to be on the move. However, a closer look takes some shine off the rosy picture the numbers paint. For one, flush with cash trickling down from the centre under the NFC arrangement, the budget documents betray the absence of any serious revenue-raising efforts. The projected provincial own tax share of nearly Rs525bn forms just above 10pc of total revenues of Rs4.9tr, speaking volumes about the government’s failure to ramp up........

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