Policy-level talks with IMF begin
Business
In the new fiscal year's budget, Pakistan will propose the abolition of the super tax
ISLAMABAD (Dunya News) – After the completion of technical-level talks between Pakistan and the International Monetary Fund (IMF), policy-level budget negotiations are underway.
The Pakistani side includes Federal Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb and authorities from the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) and Planning Commision (PC).
The global lender will also meet authorities of the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) regarding upcoming budget.
In the new fiscal year's budget, Pakistan will propose the abolition of the super tax.
During the negotiations, Pakistan will present proposals to the global lender for reducing taxes on imports and exports, providing relief to the real estate sector, and easing the tax burden on the already weighed down salaried individuals.
On the other hand, the federal budget for the upcoming fiscal year is estimated to be between Rs17,000 billion to Rs18,000 billion.
According to sources, the FBR is expected to collect Rs14,307 trillion in revenue during the next fiscal year. Out of this, Rs6,470 billion rupees will come from direct taxes.
The targets set include Rs1,153 billion from federal excise duty, Rs4,943 billion from sales tax, Rs1,741 billion from customs duty and Rs1,311 billion from the petroleum levy.
According to documents, the non-tax revenue is estimated at Rs2,584 billion rupees. Provinces are expected to provide a surplus of Rs1,220 billion.
An estimated Rs8,685 billion will be spent on interest payments on loans. Rs2,414 billion will be allocated for defence whereas Rs1,065 billion will be spent by the federal government on development projects in the next fiscal year.
Read more: Federal budget likely to hit Rs18,000bn mark
