Business

Govt mulls slapping up to 70% Windfall Tax on banking sector’s lofty profits

Published

2 years ago

Farwa

Sources says govt considering slapping fixed tax rate between 50%- 70%.
Govt determining exact levels of profits extracted through recent currency manipulation by banks.
Officials working on proposal studied Windfall Tax imposed by UK, Austria, Italy, Australia and other countries.

ISLAMABAD: The government is considering slapping a Windfall Tax on the profits of the banking sector in the range of 50% to 70% similar to the one used in the West, which imposed the same tax on energy companies, reported The News on Friday.

“Different proposals are under consideration for imposing the Windfall Tax on profits earned by the banking sector. A fixed tax rate from 50% to 70% is expected to be slapped for getting revenues out of the lofty profits earned by the banks,” officials, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, told the publication.

However, sources in the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) said that the proposal is yet to be approved by the government though Finance Minister Ishaq Dar had hinted in his press briefing on Wednesday that the government would move ahead with the Windfall Tax on the banking sector.

The government is ascertaining the exact levels of windfall profits extracted by the banking sector through recent currency manipulation. The policymakers may slap a tax at a rate whereby there is no threat of choking the banking sector.

The tax officials who are working on this proposal studied the Windfall Tax imposed by the United Kingdom, Austria, Italy, Australia and other countries whereby the energy companies had earned lofty profits in the aftermath of Russia-Ukraine war, so the respective governments had imposed the Windfall Tax to generate revenue. Even the Biden administration in the USA had threatened to impose Windfall Tax.

The recent energy crisis across Europe as a result of COVID-19, poor market decisions and the Ukraine war have pushed energy prices to all-time high.

Countries across Europe were moving to build up reserves in the face of restricted gas supplies to minimise the effects of a cold winter. At the same time, some governments were even considering country-wide blackouts and energy rationing to ensure that, at the very least, there was enough gas to heat homes.

“The government expects that in case of imposition of 50% to 70% fixed tax rate on lofty bank profits, the government can fetch Rs25 to Rs35 billion revenue generation,” said one official.

On the proposed Flood Levy, the government might grant an exemption on import of basic food items and raw materials of essential or life-saving drugs.

The levy could be in the range of 1% to 3% on all other imported items. It is estimated that the government can fetch Rs60 billion in the remaining six months of the current fiscal year 2022-23.

Sources said the government will prefer the Flood Levy because it will not become a part of the Federal Divisible Pool (FDP) under the NFC Award for distribution among the provinces, so the collected money will only be used by the federal government.

On the other hand, the FBR seeks to meet the annual tax collection target of Rs7,470 billion for the current fiscal year and has so far collected Rs3,428 billion in the first six months (July-Dec) period.

Now the tax authorities will have to collect Rs4,042 billion for materialising the desired tax collection target till June 30, 2022.

Business

An investigation was “launched” into PTA’s inability to get Rs. 78 billion back from Telcos

Published

22 hours ago

Farwa

The PTA has reportedly been instructed to reply to NAB by July 29. According to the enquiry, the national exchequer has suffered losses as a result of the delay in collecting dues.

The PTA has been asked to provide NAB with information about any pertinent records, court proceedings, and overdue bills. The NAB Karachi has summoned the PTA officials to appear with all pertinent documentation.

All of the principle sum has to be paid by the LDI firms, according to sources. But due to judicial stay orders, the collection of dues has been impeded.

These sources further state that a steering group has been established by the Ministry of IT to supervise the issue of dues recovery.

In a previous event, the tariffs levied on importing cell phones from outside were clarified by the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA).

Contrary to what some internet reports claim, PTA clarified in response to recent news regarding the tariffs on mobile phone imports that there hasn’t been a formal decision to remove these levies in Pakistan.

the PTA.Pakistanis living abroad will be the only ones free from these levies, according to the PTA. A SIM card can be inserted and the phone restarted to temporarily register a device for non-PTA mobile subscribers.

Business

Weekly inflation in Pakistan increased by 0.17 percent.

Published

22 hours ago

Farwa

The SPI for the week under review in the aforementioned group was reported at 321.95 points, as opposed to 321.40 points during the previous week, according to the PBS statistics.

The SPI for the combined consumption group saw a 20.09 percent increase in the week under review compared to the same week the previous year.

The weekly SPI includes 51 necessary items for every spending group and 17 urban areas, with a base year of 2015–16 = 100.

The SPI for the lowest consumption category, which is up to Rs 17,732, grew by 0.08 percent from 311.97 points to 312.22 points this past week.

0.18 percent,The index of consumption for the lowest consumption groups, which are Rs 17,732-22,888, Rs 22,889-29,517, Rs 29,518-44,175 and above Rs 44,175; increased by 0.13 percent, 0.15 percent, 0.18 and 0.19 percent, respectively.

Nineteen (37.25%) of the fifty-one commodities had price increases over the week, eight (15.69%) had price decreases, and twenty-four (47.06%) had unchanged pricing.

On a weekly basis, the following commodities saw significant price decreases: tomatoes (9.19%), onions (2.14%), LPG (1.04%), bananas (0.53%), wheat flour (0.35%), potatoes (0.17%), pulse masoor (0.16%), and bread (0.05%).

Chicken (4.80%), garlic (2.01%), pulse gramme (1.87%), eggs (1.71%), beef (0.93%), gur (0.89%), pulse moong (0.84%), fresh milk (0.45%), firewood (0.23%), and cigarettes (0.12%) were among the items whose average prices increased significantly week over week.

The commodities that saw a year-over-year decline were: wheat flour (31.75%); cooking oil (13.44%); vegetable ghee 2.5 kg (10.42%); vegetable ghee 1 kg (9.85%); mustard oil (8.33%); eggs (5.82%); rice basmati broken (4.15%); and tea package (2.52%).

Gas prices for Q1 (570.00%), onions (96.01%), pulse gramme (40.39%), powered milk (39.11%), garlic (34.61%), pulse moong (29.77%), men’s sandals (25.01%), beef (23.52%), salt powder (23.28%), pulse mash (22.50%), and energy saver (17.96%) were among the commodities whose average prices increased year over year.

Business

The price of gold has drastically dropped in Pakistan.

Published

2 days ago

Farwa

As per the All-Pakistan Gems and Jewellers Sarafa Association (APGJSA), the cost of 24-karat gold per tola decreased by Rs 2,300, standing at Rs 250,500.

A kilogramme of 24-karat gold costing Rs1,972 less at the local market, making it worth Rs2114,763. Ten grammes of 22-karat gold had a price decrease to Rs196,866 as well.

After losing a significant $43 during the day, the rate per ounce of gold on the international market also decreased. It currently stands at $2,370.

On Thursday, the price of 24-karat silver also experienced a decline, falling by Rs60 to settle at Rs2,860 petal.