The PML-N government has reportedly decided to reverse the drastic tax relief provided to the salaried class in its proposed federal budget for 2022-23.
According to media sources, the revised tax slabs and other proposals have been submitted to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and technical talks will begin in a few days.
To clarify, the government had given unexpected tax relief to the salaried class when it announced the Budget 2022-23 on Friday. It had proposed a tax relief in the Personal Income Tax (PIT) to the tune of Rs47 billion. The Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) had given the relief to the salaried class earning up to 1.2 million rupees per annum.
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However, the IMF rejected the proposal and demanded an increase in revenue collection. Currently, the government is looking to make its way back into the IMF program to receive the remaining funds. In 2019, the previous government signed a bailout package with the IMF for $6 billion. Islamabad has so far received $3 billion.
The incumbent government needs to meet the IMF conditions, and so far the proposed Budget 2023 goes against IMF. Therefore, the government is now making changes to the budget, sparking an immense backlash from the public and its rival PTI.
PML-N govt drops petrol bomb
Last night, the PML-N government increased petrol prices for the third time in two weeks. Finance Minister Miftah Ismail while addressing a press conference in Islamabad, claimed the government was not in a position to bear more subsidies anymore.
Starting from June 16, the price of petrol will be Rs233.89 per litre, diesel will be Rs263.31, kerosene oil will be sold for Rs211.43, and the price of light diesel oil will be Rs207.47
Reacting to the development, PTI leader Fawad Chaudhry took to Twitter and announced that his party had rejected the hike in petroleum products.
Read more: Miftah Ismail says petroleum prices to increase further
“We reject this robbery in the middle of the night with all our might,” he wrote. “Increase in petrol prices by this much has broken the middle class. People should take part in the protest against this incompetent government,” Fawad Chaudhry tweeted.
پوری شدت سے اس آدھی رات کی ڈکیتی کو مسترد کرتے ہیں پٹرول کی قیمت میں اس قدر اضافہ نے مڈل کلاس کو تباہ کر دیا ہے اس منحوس اور نا اھل ٹیم کیخلاف عوام احتجاج میں ساتھ دیں #امپورٹڈ_حکومت_نامنظور
— Ch Fawad Hussain (@fawadchaudhry) June 15, 2022