Prime Minister Imran Khan has said that the newly-launched Alien Registration Card (ARC) will allow unregistered people as well as millions of refugees to be a part of the economy, allowing them to open bank accounts and start businesses.
He said this at a ceremony at the National Database and Registration Authority (NADRA) headquarters, adding that it will allow social and financial inclusion of the previously marginalized communities in the country.
وزیراعظم عمران خان کا نادرا ہیڈ کوارٹرز کے دورے اور عوام کے لیے آسانیاں پیدا کرنے والے نادرا کے مختلف اقدامات کے افتتاح کے موقع پر گفتگو#APPNews #Pakistan #PMIK #PMImranKhan @PakPMO @ImranKhanPTI @NadraMedia @ShkhRasheed pic.twitter.com/ZMnKBUqYL2
— APP 🇵🇰 (@appcsocialmedia) August 13, 2021
PM Khan argued that the only way to deter corruption and fraud during the elections and otherwise in the country was through the introduction of technology and data in the country.
He said for the first time, people will have no objection to elections after EVMs are introduced, and that the government will have 21st century elections in the future.
He said that the real job of the government is to make the lives of people easier, and that can be done via the digitization of the economy.
Moreover, the introduction of the technology will prevent the poor marginalized communities from drifting into the unregulated illegal sector of the economy.
Other than ARC, the PM launched different initiatives of NADRA, including mobile registration vans for verification of coronavirus vaccination certificates, a new mobile app for foreigners, and an AI system to identify fake ID cards.
New tax on immovable properties
The Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) has issued updated rates of withholding tax on the sale and purchase of immovable properties.
Un the Section 236C and 236K of Income Tax Ordinance, 2001, the withholding tax would be paid by the seller of the immovable property, and the rate is increased by 100 per cent, that is, 2 per cent in case the seller is not on the Active Taxpayers List (ATL).
According to Business Recorder, a minimum tax shall be applied if the property is acquired and sold in the same fiscal/tax year; otherwise adjustable. However, if the property is help for more than four years, no advance tex is collected.
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The buyer shall also be paying 1 per cent of the transaction made based on fair market value, and similarly, if the buyer is not on the Active Tax List (ATL) the tax rate shall jump to 2 per cent.