- “We will remain firm on these commitments (of the IMF)”: Minister.
- Govt intends to simplify the income declaration process for the salaried class, he says.
- Notes There was no automatic stabilization of growth
Islamabad: the Minister of Finance Muhammad Aurangzeb assured the determination of the government to remain firm by its commitments to the International Monetary Fund Program of $ 7 billion (IMF), The news reported Wednesday.
“We are in a three -year fund program and know where we are, what we are committed to and we will remain firmly on these commitments,” said the Minister of Finance while speaking during the event “Dialogue on The economy “organized by Pakistan Business Council in Islamabad.
By suggesting that the tax burden of the salaried class could be rationalized in the upcoming budget, he said that a few things should be progressive or progressive in the next 2025-26 budget.
The minister’s remarks relate to the backdrop of statistics which reveal that the salaried class contributes to more than 300% more taxes than exporters during the first half of the current financial year.
The Federal Bureau of Return (FBR), has collected 243 billion rupees in the first half of the current financial year against a collection of 157 billion rupees during the same period of the exercise during the wage class.
Even with the combined contribution of exporters and retailers, the salaried class paid more income tax during the first six months (July-DEC) for the current year.
At the request of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the rates of salaried class slabs have been revised upwards, especially for those who draw more than RS0.5 to Rs1 million per month in salary.
By keeping in sight the existing pace, this would be the first exercise in Pakistan’s history when the government was going to force the salaried class to collect a tax amount of 500 billion rupees in the National Kitty by June 30, 2025 .
In addition, the country’s tax declarations expose a striking disparity as an astonishing 43.3% of the 5.9 million declarations subject to a taxable income declared zero, while only 3,651 people declared having won more than 100 million rupees , emphasizing the close tax base in the country.
Revealing that the government intends to simplify the tax declaration process for the salaried class, the financial Czar pointed out that although the country has reached stabilization, but there was no automatic stabilization passage to growth.
“We must be very clear that we have fundamentally changed the DNA of the economy, (therefore) that we have no problems,” he said.
This is the projection of the Pakistan State Bank to reach exchange reserves of $ 13 billion at the end of the current fiscal year, Aurangzeb described it as “very important milestone”.
Meanwhile, speaking of the rights of the federal government, Aurangzeb said that a number of ministries had been merged or abolished, and that they were monitoring this.
“We have announced that around 150,000 positions will be abolished, which are vacant. About 30,000 have already been carried out,” said the minister.