The government may carried out to slap wealth tax on movable assets and could further hike customs duty on top of more than 5,200 tariff lines. It has on the whole started giving shape to a mini-budget that will be aimed at the means of arresting the yawning budget deficit. In terms of curbing the imports, the government also considered reducing the age limit of imported cars from the period of the three years to two years and of jeeps from five years to three years. It has been stated by the inside sources of the finance ministry. Just as increasing the regulatory duty on over 900 items adding on with the import of mobile phones, was also on the government’s list of new taxation form of the measures. Hence the increase in federal excise duty on top of the cigarettes is also on the cards.
Government Plans To Impose Wealth Tax On Vehicles
However, taken away to be one of the most aggressive revenue measure, which is also highly inflationary as to be could be to further increase the additional customs duty from 2% to 3% on more than the range of around 5,200 tariff lines. This single measure can on the whole generate around Rs40 billion in additional taxes. On the current means, the maximum standard customs duty is 20%. The increase will be taking on with the maximum applicable customs duty to 23% on top of the highest slab, which will also enhance sales tax collection at the import stage. The previous PML-N government imposed on with the 2% additional customs duty to enhance revenue collection and it hence on the whole Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) government is following in the footsteps of its political rival.
Finance Minister Asad Umar has given away the review on the new tax measures, but he struggled to search away with the innovative source of collecting additional taxes. The government has also decided to appoint Hammad Azhar who is the PTI’s MNA from Lahore as an aide on revenue. He is the son of former Punjab governor Mian Muhammad Azhar.
Moreover it is to be mentioned that the mini-budget is being introduced to bring down the range of the budget deficit from an anticipated 6% (or Rs2.3 trillion) of gross domestic product (GDP) to 5.3% (or Rs2 trillion). In condition of it, the government manages to take more aggressive measures, the deficit can be further lowered to the existence of the already announced target of 4.9% of GDP. It has been stated by the sources that there was no major room to cut development expenditures that could be lowered to around the range of the Rs660 billion against the approved Public Sector Development Programme of Rs800 billion. Sources in the finance ministry added that the government wanted to enhance on with the revenue collection by at least 0.7% of GDP or Rs260 billion. Plus the government needed at least Rs100 billion in net revenues from the statement of the additional measures if it wanted to achieve the collection target of Rs4.435 trillion.
