Pakistan is talking with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) about its money plans. They are discussing the new budget and want to focus on catching traders who don’t register their businesses and making people who don’t file taxes pay more when they take out cash from banks.
The government plans to send warnings to traders who have not registered with the ‘Tajir Dost’ app. They might have to pay fines up to Rs10,000 if they don’t follow the rules.
Also the budget might increase the tax for people who don’t file taxes when they take more than Rs50,000 out of the bank. The current tax is 0.6% but it could go up to 0.9%. This could help the government collect over Rs15 billion.
The budget will also likely ask for more taxes on goods from other countries that are not necessary like luxury cars bigger than 1300cc. There might be a higher tax on buying new vehicles that are bigger than 850cc.
However the government might reduce some other taxes, like income tax, sales tax and customs duty.
The government has promised the IMF that they will be open about how the Special Investment Facility Council (SIFC) works. They are also planning to make sure everyone has the same chances to invest without any special deals.
The Ministry of Energy has told the IMF that they will increase the basic price of electricity starting from July 1. This means electricity will cost more—about Rs7 more per unit. The new average price will be Rs36 per unit. This change will affect everyone except those who use very little electricity and get it for cheaper now.
These discussions and plans are part of ongoing talks with the IMF as Pakistan tries to get a new financial help package. The IMF team is visiting Pakistan for two weeks to talk about these plans.
