Connect with us

Hi, what are you looking for?

Economy

govt not to raise taxes, only certain exemptions are being abolished to meet IMF requirements: Tarin

Tarin said IMF questioned why Pakistan had distorted its tax system “They say, ‘you have imposed 17 and 10 percent sales tax on different sector and also gave zero-rated facility to others. Take your sales tax and give them targeted subsidies instead.”

ISLAMABAD: Shaukat Tarin, Adviser to the Prime Minister on Finance and Revenue assured that the government would not increase taxes in the mini-budget budget it plans to table in the National Assembly following the agreement with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) earlier this week.

He, nonetheless, said that certain exemptions like subsidies will be withdrawn. Shaukat Tarin stated this today while mediapersons in Karachi.

When a reporter asked the adviser to comment on the mini-budget, Tarin remarked that it seemed the reporter wanted to create sensationalism. “Taxes will not increase and certain exemptions are being withdrawn.

Tarin said, “In March, the government had signed for removal of Rs700bn in exemptions and imposition of new taxes, after which it got $500 million.”

Adviser referred to the release of $500m by the IMF in March after approving four pending reviews of the country’s economic progress following the government’s decision to implement the withdrawal of corporate tax exemptions and put in place a mechanism for automatic electricity power tariff increases.

“When I came [as finance minister], I had said we will not allow an increase in taxes. We will not allow [the IMF] to impose more taxes on people who are already paying them.”

Dollar Background

The adviser said his ministry had stood firm on its stance of not increasing taxes during negotiations with the IMF.

Tarin said the IMF questioned why Pakistan had distorted its tax system, adding that the Fund’s argument held substance. “They say, ‘you have imposed 17 per cent sales tax on some [sectors], zero on some and 10pc on some. Take your sales tax and give them targeted subsidies instead’.”

Talking about the fertiliser industry, the adviser said the government provided subsidised gas to companies as well as did not impose any tax. The combined subsidy provided to the fertiliser industry was around Rs150 billion, he said, questioning: “Is this reaching our farmers?” The government will use the Ehsaas database to provide direct subsidy to farmers instead, he said.

Avatar photo
Written By

I am an experienced writer, analyst, and author. My exposure in English journalism spans more than 28 years. In the past, I have been working with daily The Muslim (Lahore Bureau), daily Business Recorder (Lahore/Islamabad Bureaus), Daily Times, Islamabad, daily The Nation (Lahore and Karachi). With daily The Nation, I have served as Resident Editor, Karachi. Since 2009, I have been working as a Freelance Writer/Editor for American organizations.

Economy

KARACHI/ISLAMABAD: The International Center for Chemical and Biological Sciences (ICCBS), University of Karachi, will help Ugandan authorities to establish a Halal Authentication Laboratory in...

Articles

Daesh gunmen killed at least 143 Russians in an attack on a concert mall in Moscow and injured dozens of others. The callous attack...

Latest Updates

The Russia’s Interior Ministry stated on Saturday that the four suspected gunmen arrested after Friday night's deadly attack were foreigners, with some media outlets...

Politics

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leader Sher Afzal Marwat clarified to the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) that he did not directly accuse Punjab Chief Minister...