Govt to impose fixed tax on small traders, says Miftah Ismail

Finance Minister Miftah Ismail said that the government will impose fixed tax on small traders.

He was speaking in the National Assembly wrapping up the debate on budget.

Miftah said that the fixed tax will be collected through electricity bills.

There are 30,000 gold shops in the country and out of these only 22 are registered, claimed Miftah.

We have reduced the tax on those selling gold in shops from 4 per cent to 1%, he said.

Talking about the super tax imposed by the government on ‘big industries’, the minister said, the new tax regime would increase the tax burden of companies owned by the PM’s sons too. “My company’s tax burden will also increase by around Rs200 million,” said Miftah.

The government will tax the income not expenditures, he said.

The minister said that some of the recommendations made by the legislators have been added in the budget.

Pakistan has never seen such a farmer-friendly budget, he said adding that Pakistan will be self-sufficient in edible oil and wheat, he said.

We are no longer going towards default, we will progress, the minister said.

Taking a jibe at the former prime minister Imran Khan, Miftah said Imran Khan talks about self-sufficiency after taking foreign loans. He claimed that the former PM took the country on the brink of bankruptcy.

We saved the country from going default, he added. Credit should go to me and the prime minister for that, he said.

Four million people applied for PM Sasta Petrol Scheme

Finance Minister Miftah Ismail said around four million people have applied for PM’s Sasta Petrol, Diesel subsidy scheme.

Out of these, one million have already been registered, he said.

There are eight million more registered under the BISP.

‘Budget deficit stands at Rs53b’

Finance minister said that the current fiscal budget will be remembered for its historic deficit. Rs53 billion is deficit for the fiscal year 2021-22, he said.

We had to take loans to compensate the deficit, he said.

Imran Khan’s government was giver Rs120 billion subsidy on petroleum products.

Current account deficit for the fiscal year 2021-22 will be $17b.

It was necessary to restart the IMF program to save the country from going default, he added.