ISLAMABAD: Claiming completion of almost all prior action before time and reaching an agreement, in principle, with all provinces over agricultural income tax, Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb sounded hopeful on Thursday that talks with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) would yield a deal on a $6bn Extended Fund Facility (EFF) this month. The government will subsequently request the lender to augment the …
ISLAMABAD: Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb on Thursday stated that the military’s pension structure is unique, requiring a complete overhaul of its service structure, and announced one year for implementing new pension regulations. He stated that their unique structure necessitates a comprehensive change in their service system, with a one-year timeframe to adopt new pension laws. He said this at the …
ISLAMABAD: Local and international firms have announced an investment of $5 billion during the next three years in Pakistan’s oil & gas exploration and production (E&P) sector. The announcement was made in a meeting presided over by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif at PM House on Saturday. A delegation of companies from the oil and gas exploration and production sector informed …
QUETTA: PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari has admitted that his party’s strategy before the budget was “weak” as it failed to engage the government for implementing the terms agreed in the written agreement for power-sharing. While addressing a press conference upon concluding his two-day visit to Quetta on Friday, the PPP leader said that it was decided in the agreement that …
ISLAMABAD: The National Electric Power Regulatory Authority (Nepra) has called a public hearing on July 8 on the question of passing on more than Rs700 billion additional burden to electricity consumers during the current fiscal year by jacking up the average national tariff by around Rs5.72 per unit. The increase would significantly impact the sale rate for poor protected consumers …
LAHORE: A petition has been filed in the Lahore High Court challenging the exemption from income tax on property sales granted to retired and serving army personnel and bureaucrats in the budget for fiscal year 2024-25. The petition filed by citizen Mashkoor Hussain through Advocate Nadeem Sarwar pleaded that the tax exemption given to the bureaucrats and military personnel was in violation …
ISLAMABAD: The Pakistan Petroleum Dealers Association (PPDA) on Wednesday announced that its talks with provincial and federal governments and other stakeholders had hit a deadlock, leaving them with no option but to go for a nationwide closure on July 5 (tomorrow). “They asked us to call off strike and promised to resolve the issue, but we cannot postpone the strike on mere …
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan is looking to clinch a staff-level agreement (SLA) on an International Monetary Fund (IMF) bailout of more than $6 billion this month after addressing all of the lender’s requirements in its annual budget, state minister for finance told Reuters. The country has set challenging revenue targets in its annual budget to help it win approval from the IMF for a loan to stave …
ISLAMABAD: Former PML-N leaders Shahid Khaqan Abbasi and Misftah Islamil, who have recently formed their own party, criticised the federal budget on Monday for lacking reforms and burdening the salaried class. At a news conference, the two leaders demanded that the government cut its expenses, stop smuggling, and increase exports by incentivising industrialists. The two leaders urged the government to review the …
ISLAMABAD: Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb has reiterated his commitment to strengthen the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) and its supporting initiatives to enhance revenue collection, digitisation and economic development. The minister expressed these views while chairing a meeting at the FBR headquarters on Monday to review the performance of the tax machinery. Chairman Zubair Tiwana and members of the board …