ICST urges govt to raise import slabs, not income tax

News Image

MG News | August 27, 2018 at 10:59 AM GMT+05:00

0:00

Islamabad Chamber of Small Traders on Sunday said the country will need almost $9.25 billion in debt repayments during the current fiscal which would be a challenge.

The amount needed to pay foreign debts and interest is almost equal to the forex reserves held by the central banks warranting foreign loan to keep the country afloat, it said.

Serious efforts are needed to control imports otherwise the deficit can jump to 25 billion dollars making it very difficult for the government to manage, said Patron Islamabad Chamber of Small Traders Shahid Rasheed Butt.

Increasing interest rates will be a hard decision as it will start contraction in the economy at this critical juncture, he added.

Shahid Rasheed Butt said that the tested recipe for controlling deficit has remained a cut in the developmental spending. However, the government can explore the option of jacking up the slab of 20 percent to 30 percent on imports.

This revision will not only discourage imports but save foreign exchange and add around Rs 250 billion in the revenue thereby reducing the deficit.

He said that the proposal for an increase in income tax should not be accepted as it will trigger evasion and corruption as the former government had already added over one trillion rupees to the burden on taxpayers.

Related News

Name Price/Vol %Chg/NChg
KSE100 138,597.36
256.32M
-0.05%
-68.14
ALLSHR 85,286.16
608.38M
-0.48%
-413.35
KSE30 42,340.81
77.13M
-0.03%
-12.33
KMI30 193,554.51
76.19M
-0.83%
-1627.52
KMIALLSHR 55,946.05
305.11M
-0.79%
-443.10
BKTi 38,197.97
16.53M
-0.59%
-225.01
OGTi 27,457.35
6.73M
-0.94%
-260.91
Symbol Bid/Ask High/Low
Name Last High/Low Chg/%Chg
BITCOIN FUTURES 117,670.00 121,165.00
117,035.00
-1620.00
-1.36%
BRENT CRUDE 69.23 70.77
69.14
-0.29
-0.42%
RICHARDS BAY COAL MONTHLY 96.50 0.00
0.00
2.20
2.33%
ROTTERDAM COAL MONTHLY 104.50 104.50
104.50
-0.30
-0.29%
USD RBD PALM OLEIN 998.50 998.50
998.50
0.00
0.00%
CRUDE OIL - WTI 66.03 67.54
65.93
-0.20
-0.30%
SUGAR #11 WORLD 16.79 17.02
16.71
0.05
0.30%

Chart of the Day


Latest News
July 18, 2025 at 07:21 PM GMT+05:00

Pakistan strengthens UK trade links


July 18, 2025 at 05:36 PM GMT+05:00

Pakistan, China set to advance agricultural innovation


July 18, 2025 at 05:10 PM GMT+05:00

PSX Closing Bell: Riding High, Ending Low



Top 5 things to watch in this week

Pakistan Stock Movers
Name Last Chg/%Chg
Name Last Chg/%Chg