Lahore: Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan has given approval for a proposal to charge a carbon emissions tax worth PKR 1 per litre on petrol and diesel sold in Punjab, a news source reported. The proposal is a step towards controlling environmental pollution.
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The Punjab Excise and Taxation Department had forwarded the said proposal to Punjab Chief Minister (CM) Usman Buzdar.
The Punjab government also has plans to carry out new surveys for estimating property taxes in the province in August 2019. The excise department has suggested to increase tax exemptions for women on residential properties, along with exemptions for orphans till age 25. Punjab’s resource mobilisation committee has agreed to these suggestions.
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The revenue levied from the carbon emissions tax will be invested in green initiatives. It is expected that this tax would easily generate between PKR 8 billion and PKR 10 billion annually. The implementation of the carbon emissions tax awaits a final approval from the Punjab government.