ISLAMABAD: The newly introduced mini-budget on Thursday became applicable as the President of Pakistan Dr. Arif Alvi signed the Finance Supplementary Bill 2023.
The approval has been given in accordance with Article 75 of the constitution, said a statement.
The bill envisages additional taxes and duties of one hundred and seventy billion rupees to meet the understanding reached with the International Monetary Fund for the Extended Fund Facility.
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Earlier on February 15, 2023, the government presented a mini budget to comply with the conditions of International Monetary Fund (IMF).
Finance Minister Muhammad Ishaq Dar presented the Finance (Supplementary) Bill, 2023 in the National Assembly proposing to impose new taxes worth Rs 170 billion in various sectors to minimize the fiscal deficit of the current fiscal year 2022-23.
It is worth mentioning that the IMF loan program under Extended Fund Facility (EFF) was still not approved due to non-application of newly introduced taxation measures.
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Presenting the supplementary Bill, the finance minister said the government has proposed to increase the General Sales Tax on the import of luxury items from the existing 17 per cent to 25 per cent, while overall General Sales Tax has also been increased from the existing 17 per cent to 18 per cent.
The minister said the government recently held talks with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to revive the program with the IMF in which it was agreed that the government would take some tough decisions to streamline the deteriorating condition of Pakistan’s economy.
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He said the new revenue measures would not affect the poor segment as most of the new taxes were being imposed on luxury items not used by them.
The minister added that in order to help the poor cope with the rising inflation, the government has also proposed a Rs 40 billion increase in the budget of the Benazir Income Support Programme (BISP).
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“The government has proposed to increase the BISP budget from Rs 360 billion to Rs 400, allocating Rs 40 billion in additional funds to benefit the (BISP) beneficiaries,” he said.
