ISLAMABAD, Jan 29: Over the past 54 months, the PPP-led coalition government has given tax exemptions to certain influential lobbies and the elites which amount to more than the loans acquired from the International Monetary Fund to correct the balance of payment.
Between 2008 and Dec 2012, the government took loans of Rs604 billion from the IMF and granted tax exemptions to the tune of about Rs719bn, the Federal Board of Revenue informed the Senate on Tuesday.
Almost 84 per cent of tariff and duty was exempted or reduced for the benefit of the lobbies through statutory regulatory orders (SROs) issued by the government, said the FBR in a written reply to a question raised by PML-N Senator Nuzhat Sadiq. She had asked about the year-wise figures of exemptions given to various sectors through the SROs.
Former adviser to the government on economy Dr Ashfaq H. Khan told Dawn that it was the responsibility of the government to bring all the sectors enjoying exemptions into the tax net.
Categories: Asia