According to Finance Minister Shaukat Tarin, the tax exemption of Rs 343 billion has been altered in the Finance (Supplemental) Bill 2021, and the average man will have to pay an additional Rs 2 billion in taxes.
After presenting the supplementary finance bill in the National Assembly, he told a press conference in Islamabad flanked by Minister of State for Information Farrukh Habib and Chairman Federal Board of Revenue Dr. Muhammad Ashfaq that the government has proposed only Rs 2 billion in tax exemptions on items related to the common man, which would have a negligible impact on inflation.
He stated that the government proposed withdrawing tax exemptions totaling Rs 343 billion, of which Rs 272 billion were refundable or adjustable, while actual additional taxes totaled just Rs 71 billion, of which Rs 69 billion were for luxury items.
Tarin stated that the rumours about the bill imposing a full weight on the people are false, and that suspicions about the bill are rampant. He stated that the IMF wants the government to impose sales tax on everyone, but the Rs 70 billion tax exemption included luxury items.