Finance Minister Ishaq Dar on Thursday assured that the coalition government which has taken tough measures, increasing the burden on the public has no plans to impose new taxes on the agriculture and real estate sectors.
“I want to be clear, that no new taxes be imposed on agriculture or real estate. We have suffered a lot to meet IMF conditions,” Dar said on the floor of the National Assembly.
The board of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) approved a $3 billion bailout program for Pakistan, of which $1.2 billion was disbursed immediately, helping to stabilize the South Asian nation’s ailing economy.
Media reports suggest that the IMF has asked the government to plan to tax the real estate and agriculture sectors to release the remaining funds.
Dar said people associated with the agriculture sector for which the government has expanded the loan amount from Rs 1,800 to Rs 2,250 billion in the budget are worried about the reports.
He added that all the previous steps stipulated by the lender had been completed and the agreement with the IMF was concluded in a “transparent” manner.
“There will be no further burden on the people. All the commitments made with the IMF are on the Finance Ministry’s website,” he said.
The deal, which has already brought some relief to investors in the country’s stocks, exchange rates and bonds, will unlock more external financing.
Long-time allies Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates have deposited $3 billion in Pakistan’s central bank in the past two days. China has lent more than $5 billion in the past three months to save the country from default.
