June 24, 2022: Federal Minister for Finance, Miftah Ismail on Friday said that the coalition government was working hard to enhance the production of electricity and would install 4,000-6,000 megawatts of solar energy in the national grid within a year.
The government would sell electricity to the industrial sector at cheap rates to enhance their productivity and reduce the production cost, he said while talking to a private news channel on Friday.
The minister said that the PTI government depleted Rs1500 billion on the subsidy in the power sector in the last year.
He lamented over the provision of subsidies on fuel and electricity and termed it an extra burden on the national exchequer.
Miftah said the challenges in inflation and unemployment would be overcome in three to four months and would also achieve the growth target fixed by the government.
Rs3,000 to Rs10,000 fixed tax would be charged from retail shop owners to bring them into the tax net.
The government would expand its tax network and make arrangements to bring the affluent class in the tax base in order to enhance revenue and increase spending on social sector.
“There are more than 30,000 shops in the gold business and only 22 are registered. The government would impose fixed income and sales tax worth Rs. 40,000 on every shop have the area of 300-square feet.”
“The government is providing Rs. 2000 to eight million households as relief in addition with the Benazir Income Support Programme in the month of June to protect the poor from the impact of inflation.”
He said in the last tenure of the Pakistan Muslim League Nawaz (PML-N), the country was exporting wheat but now it is dependent on importing the commodity from the international market instead of being an agricultural country.
The minister said that the value of the rupee would be stabled and stronger soon in the near future as the country’s reserves are increasing.
