FBR Opposes IMF’s Proposal of Additional Taxes for Salaried Individuals

The Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) is reportedly resisting a proposal by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to implement additional taxes of Rs. 176 billion on the salaried class in the upcoming budget, a national daily reported. The news report quoted sources saying that various taxes are under consideration to boost the income tax collection from the current level of nearly Rs. 129 billion (by approximately Rs. 176 billion) to Rs. 305 billion. ALSO READ MCB Registers A Profit of Rs. 6.8 Billion in 1Q’21 The IMF had proposed this to increase the revenue to create room for development expenditures and reduce the budget deficit. During the past fiscal year, the revenue collection from the salary income had increased to Rs. 129.4 billion from Rs. 76.4 billion in the preceding fiscal year. This was an increase of 70 percent. However, the counter-proposal of the FBR suggests an increase of up to Rs. 10 billion in the tax collection from the salary income, opposing the higher increase due to soaring inflation. ALSO READ Palm Oil Imports Record a Massive Increase in First 9 Months of FY 2020-21 The news report revealed that Prime Minister Imran Khan also met with IMF officials and requested them to soften the conditions on the energy prices and taxes, and especially on education, health, and agriculture sectors. The IMF has projected Pakistan’s revenue collection for the next fiscal year at Rs. 5.9 trillion, revised upwards from an initially expected collection of Rs. 4.6 trillion, an increase of 27 percent.