ISLAMABAD – Federal Minister for Finance Muhammad Aurangzeb on Thursday addressed stakeholders’ concerns about fiscal year 2024-25.
The country’s finance czar emphasised importance of widening tax base, saying that current tax-to-GDP ratio is unsustainable and aiming to increase it to 13pc in three years. He expressed government’s commitment to eliminating the informal economy and promoting digital financial systems.
Addressing proposed increase in Petroleum Development Levy (PDL) by Rs60 to Rs80, the minister explained that the surge would be gradual over the next fiscal year and linked to international oil prices.
He further mentioned that salaried individuals earning up to Rs6lac annually and the top tax bracket of 35pc would remain unchanged, but there would be adjustments in the tax slabs, including higher taxes for non-filers.
Auranhzeb called for intent to eliminate the concept of non-filers and highlighted the importance of bringing the retail and wholesale sectors into the tax net to broaden the tax base.
Moving further, he sheds light on shift of the Export Refinance Scheme from the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) to EXIM Bank, with a focus on providing a significant portion of the refinance fund to the SME sector. He also highlighted government’s goal to increase IT exports from $3.5 billion to $5 billion, emphasizing support for the IT sector.
Clearing air on privatization, Aurangzeb said the ongoing efforts, with transactions for PIA and Islamabad Airport set to be completed in next two months, and added that preparations for the documentation of Karachi and Lahore airports were also underway.
