ISLAMABAD: The government has been unable to elect Shaukat Tarin as a Member of the Parliament within the stipulated time-frame of six months, which is going to expire today (Saturday). Now there is no other option but to appoint Tarin as Adviser to Prime Minister on Finance and Revenue. The portfolio of finance minister will fall vacant today, so there are two options i.e. either to appoint someone elected as stop-gap arrangement or this portfolio…
Posts published in “ECONOMY”
Leader of the Opposition in the National Assembly Shehbaz Sharif said that Prime Minister Imran Khan was not working for the people of Pakistan but was instead “bowing down” to the International Monterey Fund (IMF). PML-N president on Friday also termed the increase in tax and electricity and petrol prices as mini budget. The opposition leader claimed that what he had said in his budget speech proved to be true and the government proved to…
LAHORE: The European Union (EU) will decide about extending the Generalised Scheme of Preferences Plus (GSP+) status for 2024 to Pakistan after reviewing the country’s two-year performance report on exports for the years 2020 and 2021, EU Ambassador to Pakistan Androulla Kaminara said on Thursday. “The last two-year report (2018-19) was issued in February 2020. Pakistan’s performance report (for the years 2020 and 2021) is under compilation these days. Therefore, further decision for the extension…
ISLAMABAD:The Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) on Monday again allowed its officers to forcefully recover disputed taxes from bank accounts of taxpayers, withdrawing over two-year old instructions that had been issued to bar taxmen from taking money without prior intimation to the account holders. The fresh instructions would likely dent Finance Minister Shaukat Tarin’s pro-taxpayers posture while former FBR chairman Shabbar Zaidi has also publicly aired his frustration against the move. The first order that…
ISLAMABAD: Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) on Monday revoked the clause that made it mandatory for taxmen to warn defaulters 24 hours before freezing their bank accounts, which tax lawyers dubbed as harassment and a dent to ease of doing business. Back in the day former FBR chairman Shabbar Zaidi had made it mandatory for the tax collectors to intimate defaulters before suspending their account, keeping the FBR chairperson in loop. “I am further directed…
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan is among the top 10 countries that possess the largest external debt stocks and became eligible for the Debt Service Suspension Initiative (DSSI) in the aftermath of the Covid-19 pandemic. According to International Debt Statistics in 2022, released by the World Bank on Monday, there was a wide divergence in the rate at which external debt accumulated in individual DSSI-eligible countries, including the group’s largest borrowers. The combined external debt stock of the…
ISLAMABAD: The unprecedented gas deficit in the forthcoming winter season has become inevitable as Pakistan LNG Limited (PLL) has failed to attract the LNG trading companies in response to its tender floated on September 11, 2021 seeking eight LNG cargoes, four each for December and January. This means the country will not be able to import 1.2 bcfd LNG each in December and January — peak demand season in winter, instead it will be able…
ISLAMABAD: PTI’s Central Vice-President Zahid Hussain Kazmi on Sunday said that the protection of public interest would be the first priority even when dealing with the IMF, adding the people are well aware of the devastation created by the past governments. He said, in contrast to the past regimes, the PTI government took care of the poor citizens, adding that in order to achieve self-sufficiency, the culture of paying taxes needs to be promoted. He…
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan and the IMF are scheduled to kick-start face-to-face policy level talks this week in Washington, DC, from October 13 to 15 for clubbing two reviews under the Extended Fund Facility and approving $1 billion. Federal Minister for Finance Shaukat Tarin will lead Pakistan’s official entourage to make last-ditch efforts to convince the IMF for a mutually-agreed workable plan for reviving the IMF program. Some innovation on tax collection might become part of IMF…
ISLAMABAD – Pakistan and International Monetary Fund (IMF) would start policy level talks in Washington next week after talks at the technical level between the two sides remained inconclusive. Federal Minister for Finance Shaukat Tarin, Governor SBP Dr Reza Baqir, and secretary finance would participate in the talks with IMF in Washington. Pakistan and IMF are holding talking for finalizing an agreement on completion of sixth and seventh reviews under the $6 billion Extended Fund…
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) on Saturday concluded technical-level discussions on a ‘positive note’ and agreed to continue talks at a higher level in Washington from next week to put $6 billion Extended Fund Facility (EFF) back on track. The policy-level talks will kick off early next week in Washington by a delegation from Pakistan led by Finance Minister Shaukat Tarin. He will leave for Washington on Tuesday along with senior officers,…