Pakistan finance bill proposes rise in goods and services tax to 18%

KARACHI, Pakistan :Pakistan laid a supplementary finance bill before parliament on Wednesday, proposing to raise the goods and services tax to 18 per cent from 17 per cent as part of efforts to raise 170 billion rupees in extra revenue during the current fiscal year ending July.

Fahad Rauf, head of research at Ismail Iqbal Securities, a local brokerage, said the only silver lining of the finance bill is that it would take Pakistan a step closer to the IMF programme resumption. "Its unfortunate that we only know how to increase indirect taxation, and burden the existing taxpayers," Rauf said."On the other hand, there is no income tax collection from retailers, real estate, and agriculture segments."

The finance bill also proposed to raise taxes on luxury items to 25 per cent, while hikes in taxes on first- and business-class air travel, cigarettes and sugary drinks were also proposed.

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Pakistan finance bill proposes to raise GST rate to 18% from 17%ISLAMABAD : Pakistan laid a supplementary finance bill before parliament on Wednesday, proposing to raise the goods and services tax to 18 per cent from 17 per cent as part of efforts to raise 170 billion rupees ($639 million) in extra revenue during the current fiscal year ending July.Finance Ministe
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