ISLAMABAD: The Finance Ministry and the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) will provide a detailed briefing to the National Assembly Standing Committee on Finance today, explaining the rationale behind imposing two further taxes on electricity bills.
Presided over by Syed Naveed Qamar, the finance committee has requested the FBR to clarify the types of further taxes levied on electricity consumers. Qamar noted that sales tax is collected on the sale of all goods, including electricity.
When questioned about the additional taxes on electricity bills, the FBR chairman mentioned that two further taxes are collected from non-filers but failed to specify the categories of non-filers. The committee chairman insisted on a more comprehensive explanation in today’s meeting.
Additionally, the secretary of finance presented an overview of the economy, discussing GDP growth, budget deficit, current account, inflation, unemployment, interest rates, energy circular debts, and other economic indicators from the last fiscal year, along with projections for the current fiscal year.
Finance Minister and Minister of State for Finance highlighted measures proposed to address economic challenges in the budget and beyond. They emphasized corrective actions taken to tackle the fiscal deficit and external accounts, and ongoing negotiations with the IMF to address structural economic weaknesses.
Story by Zaheer Abbasi
