Pakistan may impose more taxes to meet the annual tax collection target after completion of talks with the International Monetary Fund (IMF), hinted Shaukat Tarin the adviser to Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan on Finance and Revenue.
According to The Nation, Tarin on Wednesday said that talks with IMF will be successfully completed in a couple of days.
The advisor made this assumption while announcing details of financial assistance of USD 4.2 billion from Saudi Arabia. He said that the government would rationalize the taxes. However, he did not share further details, according to The Nation.
Clarifying statement, Hammad Azhar, Federal Minister for Energy said that Pakistan's oil prices are lower in the world except for the countries producing oil. He said that inflation is a global phenomenon as the whole world is passing through a commodity cycle. However, he expressed the hope that the world commodity cycle would break within six months and the prices in the international market would come down leaving a positive impact on inflation in Pakistan.
He further said that global prices of food items and oil had tripled while oil prices in Pakistan were still lower than the world and the price of gas in Pakistan had not increased since 2019.
Azhar said a bag of urea is selling at Rs 1,800 in Pakistan as compared to its price of Rs7000 per bag in the international market. He informed that the government has given a tax exemption of Rs 450 billion on oil since August 2020. However, he said this has put the government under pressure for extending too much relief, The Nation report said.
Saudi Arabia has announced to provide USD 4.2 billion worth of assistance to Pakistan to support its economy. The assistance was announced on Wednesday after Prime Minister Imran Khan's three-day visit to Saudi Arabia during which he held talks with Saudi Prince Mohammad bin Salman in Riyadh.
Pakistan's economy is in dire condition and the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has further affected the economic growth. The World Bank recently set tough conditions for USD 1.5 billion lending such as an increase in electricity rates, introduction of new power and tax policies, putting the Imran Khan-led government in a tight spot.
( With inputs from ANI )
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