Islamabad: The Senate Standing Committee on Finance and Revenue on Tuesday (August 24) asked the government to give a one-year tax amnesty in income tax to individuals earning up to PKR 1.2 million per year, news sources reported.
The committee headed by Senator Talha Mahmood said that this will give people much-needed relief during the COVID-19 pandemic and help them combat resulting spike in inflation.
The committee also recommended that the State Bank of Pakistan eliminate the fee for Inter-Bank Funds Transfer (IBFT) in order to promote digitisation and offer assistance to the poor. In this respect, the committee directed that the SBP’s Deputy Governor Jameel Ahmad to submit a compliance report within a month.
The decision took place after the central bank imposed a monthly cap of PKR 25,000 over which commercial banks were allowed to collect a fee of 0.1 % of the transaction value or PKR 200, whichever is lower. According to the SBP representative, the decision was taken to improve IBFT transaction services and allow banks to collect the service cost they incurred. Transactions within the same bank, on the other hand, remain free of cost.
Nauman Ahmad is an imaginative Pisces whose love for literature and nature is unparalleled. When he's not reading or hiking, he's sleeping and eating, which gives him plenty of energy for his next adventure.
