Post Budget 2021: No Additional Tax On mobile phone calls, Internet Data, Shaukat Tarin

Finance Minister Shaukat Train has on Saturday (today) said that there will be no additional tax imposed on the use of internet data and mobile phone calls.

While addressing a press conference post Budget 2021-22 today, Shaukat Tarin said the government has presented a total growth budget and their challenge is to stabilize growth.

Federal Minister for Industries and Production Khusro Bakhtiar, Adviser to the Prime Minister for Commerce and Industries Abdul Razak Dawood and Special Assistant to the PM on Poverty Alleviation Dr Sania Nishtar accompanied him.

Additional tax of Rs500 billion will be collected in the next financial year, said Tarin. “We have to earn dollars by increasing exports and add an additional tax of Rs500 billion in the next financial year,” he said.

The finance minister said they will reach non-filers through electricity and gas bills.

He said, “Big retailers have sales of Rs1,500 billion and sales tax has to be levied on all big stores. Consumers will be rewarded if they get a slip and gave examples of other countries.”

Tarin further informed that Prime Minister Imran has refused the proposal to impose federal excise duty on the use of internet data and mobile phone calls.

“No increase in the tax rate of mobile phone calls, SMS, internet,” said Shaukat Tarin.

Pakistan’s struggle for growth

The finance minister said that Pakistan has to go to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for help when its position is weak.

“We need 20% growth in exports. Our savings rate is 15% and our investment rate is up to 16%. If we do not have revenue, how will we achieve growth?” he asked.

“People object to how Rs5,800 billion will be collected,” he said, explaining that talks are underway with the IMF.

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“Poor in the country have not received loans”: Tarin

The finance minister said loans will be given from commercial banks to small welfare banks and, in the first phase, four million people will be targeted. He announced plans to provide employment and give Rs150,000 to small farmers while also giving lists of small farmers and the poor to banks.

Loans up to Rs2 million will be given to build a roof and loans to poor farmers will go up to Rs500,000, he said.

Pakistan has become a food deficient country and we are now importing what we used to export, he said, adding that the country is importing pulses, wheat and sugar.

“We did not pay attention to our crops, but now we will pay attention to it,” he assured.

“We should not play politics with the poor,” he said.

The finance minister said that the poor in the country have not received loans and training for the last 70 years.

Shaukat Tarin Presented Third Federal Budget 2021-22

The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) government has presented the federal budget 2021-22 with a total outlay of Rs7.​136 trillion on Friday.

Finance Minister Shaukat Tarin said that the volume of the federal budget has been kept at Rs 8,487 billion.

Finance Minister Shaukat Tarin said that it is an honour for him to present the third budget of the PTI government.

“We went bankrupt because of the debts, we inherited a deficit of $20 billion, interest rates were kept low and loans were taken from commercial banks,” he added.

Delivering a budget speech, the Federal Minister said that the interest rate was artificially kept low and all the loans were taken from the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) which created a severe imbalance in the financial volume, the volume of loans from the SBP reached a dangerous level of Rs. 70 trillion.

Shaukat Tarin said that there has been a remarkable increase of a staggering 18 per cent in tax collection, due to the extraordinary performance of the economy this year, the average limit of taxes has crossed Rs 4,000 billion.

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