15% tax on airline tickets proposed as Pakistan eyes IMF deal

ISLAMABAD – The Pakistani travelers might be facing serious trouble very soon as 15% tax on airline tickets has been proposed.

The proposal to tax travelers comes as Pakistan struggles to increase its revenue to seek assistance from the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

The airline tickets for Pakistani tourists are already expensive considering the devaluation of currency against Dollar as well as rising fuel prices; however, the situation seems to exacerbate in days to come considering the 15 percent tax in the works.

Pakistan currently faces a balance of payment crisis and is trying to seek some lending from the IMF to shore up its economy. The foreign exchange reserves have plummeted in the last year to below $5 billion in what appears to be worrisome for decision makers.

The IMF team is in Pakistan currently to finalise a deal at the moment; a recent hike in fuel prices has also been done to increase the revenue with another hike expected to be announced soon.

Pakistani tourists - who select Turkey as a honeymoon destination - might be deprived of their travel pleasure soon if the proposed tax is imposed, however, a final decision in this regard would be made soon.