Govt imposes 17pct sales tax on essential hospital equipment: Sherry Rehman

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) Vice-President Senator Sherry Rehman on Saturday said the government had imposed a 17 per cent sales tax on essential hospital equipment during Covid-19.

“This will lead to a tsunami of inflation in the healthcare sector, which will affect the more vulnerable sections of the country. Sales tax will severely affect the operational cost of hospitals and treatment,” Sherry Rehman said in a tweet.

Read more: Govt’s decision to increase electricity tariffs worrying: Sherry Rehman

She said the removal of Entry No 52-A from the 6^th Schedule of the Sales Tax Act 1990 has changed the whole landscape of the health sector. “The government will also levy sales tax on the supply of hospitals, which will drastically increase the cost of treatment. The so-called health card will not be able to stop this catastrophe,” she tweeted.

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سیلز ٹیکس ایکٹ 1990 کے چھٹے شیڈول سے اندراج نمبر 52-A کے اخراج نے صحت کے شعبے کا پورا منظر نامہ تبدیل کر دیا ہے۔ ہسپتالوں کی سپلائی پر بھی حکومت اب سیلز ٹیکس کی وصولی کرے گی جس سے اعلاج کی لاگت میں شدید اضافہ ہوگا۔ اس تباہی کو نام نہاد صحت کارڈ بھی نہیں روک سکے گا۔ 2/2

— SenatorSherryRehman (@sherryrehman) February 19, 2022

On February 12, the PPP leader had said the government’s decision to increase electricity tariffs was worrying.

“With an increase of Rs2 per unit, Rs290 billion will be collected from consumers. In the last three years, this government has increased electricity prices by more than 52 per cent, yet the circular debts have been increasing instead of decreasing,” Sherry Rehman had tweeted.