Govt to levy 'super tax' on affluent class to reduce budget deficit: Miftah.

ISLAMABAD -- Finance Minister Miftah Ismail has said the government has decided to levy a super tax on the affluent class to reduce the budget deficit in order to end reliance on foreign assistance and take the country towards economic sovereignty.

Winding up discussion on the budget for the next fiscal year, he said individuals and companies earning Rs150 million will have to pay one per cent additional tax, two per cent additional tax on 200 million rupees income, three per cent on 250 million rupees income and four per cent additional tax on 300 million rupees income. He also added that this tax will be for a period of one year.

The minister added that thirteen high-earning sectors including oil and gas, cigarettes, cement, and LNG terminals have also been identified for the imposition of a 10 per cent super tax on income of Rs300 million. He clarified that this will be a one-time tax.

Miftah said that there are nine million retail shops and the government has decided to bring 2.5 million of them in the tax net and a fixed tax will be imposed on them.

He further said that only 22 gold shops out of 30,000 are registered. A fixed tax will be levied on gold shops measuring up to three hundred square feet whilst sales tax on big jewellery shops has been reduced from 17 to three per cent.

The finance minister further said withholding tax on the sale of jewellery has been reduced to one per cent from the current four per cent. He said a fixed tax will also be imposed on car dealers, restaurants and those constructing houses. Miftah add that the tax has been imposed on income and not consumption and therefore, these measures will not cause inflation.

After incorporating various suggestions and measures, the tax revenue target has increased to Rs7,470 billion for the next fiscal year, said Miftah , adding that Rs4,373 billion will be distributed to provinces as their share.

"The government has tried to reduce the burden on the weak segments of the society," he said while explaining that sugar, flour and ghee will be provided to the people at subsidized rates throughout the year at Utility Stores. He informed the House that one million people have so far registered to avail Sasta Petrol...