Amid rising inflation in Pakistan, Imran Khan govt proposes to raise taxes

With rising inflation in Pakistan, the Imran Khan government on Thursday tabled a mini-budget in the assembly, proposing to raise a variety of taxes in the country to meet certain conditions set by the International Monetary Fund (IMF), reported local media.

With the passing of the bill, various commodities and services will become expensive in the country. The bill proposes to raise taxes on phones, jewellery, computers, electric vehicles, cars, stationery, services in Islamabad, foreign TV dramas, imported food items and many others, reported Samaa TV.

Amid the protests from the opposition members, Pakistan's Finance Minister Shaukat Tarin on Thursday tabled the supplementary finance bill 2021 (mini-budget) and the State Bank of Pakistan Autonomy bill in the National Assembly.

The government also passed several ordinances through resolutions enraging the opposition. The session has been postponed until Friday when the two bills will likely be put to debate and a vote. Earlier, the federal cabinet approved the supplementary finance bill, paving the way for the increase in the General Sales Tax (GST) on 150 items including smartphones, computers, jewellery, and vehicles, the Pakistani publication added.

With the supplementary finance bill and the SBP Autonomy Bill, the Pakistani government aims to meet certain conditions set by the IMF. It needs to pass the bills before January 12 when the IMF Executive Board will give the final node to a USD 1 billion loan tranche for Pakistan. Under the deal with the IMF, the government has revised its tax revenue target from Rs5829 billion to Rs6100 billion, according to Samaa TV.