No Plans to Impose New Taxes on Construction and Agriculture Sectors: Dar

Finance Minister Ishaq Dar informed the National Assembly on Friday that no taxes will be implemented on the undertaxed agriculture and construction sectors. “I want to categorically state that no new tax would be imposed on the agriculture and construction sectors,” said Dar while addressing a National Assembly session on Friday. He also added that inflation will come down to 7 percent in two years. “We’re trying to devise policies that will cancel out the prevalent storm of inflation,” he said, adding that “if the policies are successful, inflation could be brought down to 7 percent within two years”. During his address to the National Assembly, Dar underscored his commitment to being transparent in financial matters, notably in relation to the recent standby arrangement with the International Monetary Fund (IMF). Dar disclosed that the Letter of Intent (LoI) for the bailout had been signed on June 30. He said that the LoI included the Memorandum of Economic and Financial Policies and the Policy Framework Paper. For the sake of accountability, the finance minister said a copy of the three documents on the IMF agreement will be displayed in the NA library, available for all parliamentarians. Dar went on to say that when the new government took over, the foreign exchange reserves stood at $14 billion. Despite making payments on all debt maturities since last year, the outgoing government has ensured roughly the same amount of forex reserves when the new government comes to power. “We’ve made all payments and haven’t stopped any, said the minister, underlining the government’s devotion to its financial obligations,” added Dar. Looking ahead, Dar opined that the new government should be able to make independent decisions and help the economy improve for the betterment of the country.