Islamabad: The Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) is looking to introduce a 0.6% Withholding Tax (WHT) on the purchase of foreign currency — a news source reported. In addition, the tax authority is also seeking to reduce the allowances that are generally deducted from the income of industrialists before their taxable incomes are calculated.
The previous government had introduced a 0.6% tax on withdrawals of cash from banks for non-filers. Now, the authorities are looking to impose a similar tax on the purchase of foreign currencies.
The IMF and Pakistani authorities are currently in negotiations to discuss the revenue collection target for the upcoming year. Reportedly, the IMF has proposed a target of PKR 5.1 trillion, while the FBR has countered with the figure of PKR 4.9 trillion.
Moreover, the IMF has been insisting that Pakistan should withdraw its sales tax exemptions. However, the federal government is not willing to comply with this directive at the moment, in order to offset the detrimental impact of the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.
