The lender has asked the federal government to withdraw tax exemptions on books, pens, paper, sticky notes, cardboard, and other stationery items. The Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) will discuss this with Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif at the earliest convenience, local media reported on Wednesday.
Meanwhile, the government is already considering imposing a sales tax on tractors, pesticides, and other essential agricultural products. Currently, pesticides and their active ingredients registered by the Department of Plant Protection are exempt from sales tax.
IMF has directed Pakistan to increase advance tax on the purchase of immovable properties. The FBR had imposed a 3 percent tax on filers and a 10.5 percent tax on nob filers during the current fiscal year, and it collected Rs. 80 billion during this year. Now, the lender has directed to further increase advance tax on non-filers.
The lender has raised concerns about the growing financial losses of State-Owned Enterprises (SOEs) and urged Pakistan to get rid of them.
It also wants Pakistan to tax Rs. 1.3 trillion more next fiscal year, massively raising the FBR’s annual revenue target to Rs. 12.3 trillion.
