A five-day session of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) set to commence in Paris in which Pakistan’s performance on the implementation of the global illicit financing watchdog’s 27 action points to curb terror financing and money laundering will be reviewed. Experts are of the view that Pakistan is expected to exit the grey list soon after winning a “largely-compliant”...
ISLAMABAD: Chairman FBR Shabbar Zaidi has sought the cooperation of banks in identifying the benami accounts. In a statement today, he said we want the banks to seek details of benami accounts of their account holders. He said the FBR does not want to directly contact the account holders in order to keep intact the confidence of the people on...
Web Desk - (Syed Ahad Hussain) ISLAMABAD: Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) chairman Shabbar Zaidi said on Friday Pakistanis will have to embrace the tax culture as steps are being taken to include the middle class in the tax system. Talking to media here at the federal capital, the FBR head vowed to generate tax from income instead of commodities...
WASHINGTON: Christine Lagarde will resign from the International Monetary Fund on September 12 as she awaits final word on her nomination to the presidency of the European Central Bank, she announced Tuesday. Her departure allows the IMF board to begin the search for her replacement. "With greater clarity now on the process for my nomination as ECB President and the...
ISLAMABAD: The State Bank of Pakistan on Tuesday has announced its monetary policy, raising the interest rate by 100 basis pointst-- to 13.5 percent. The move follows the agreement with the International Monetary Fund over a $6 billion loan package that comes with tough conditions aimed at cutting Pakistan's substantial fiscal and current account deficits and bolstering its shrinking currency...
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi on Tuesday tweeted about the country’s drive to increase its tax base. FM Qureshi said in the post, “no nation can prosper under the burden of debt. The only way out is by increasing our tax base and documenting the economy.” The foreign minister urged every Pakistani to play their part, pay taxes...
ISLAMABAD: The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has projected that revenues of the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) would increase to Rs 0.5 trillion by the year 2023-24. In it's recently published staff report on Pakistan, the IMF projected that the FBR is likely to collect around Rs5.5 trillion during the current fiscal year which would increase to Rs7.001 trillion in...
KARACHI: The US dollar upsurges by Rs1.21 against the Pakistani rupee in the interbank market on Monday. After rise, the US Dollar was being sold at Rs160 in the interbank market. The US dollar also saw an raise of Rs0.75 in the open market where it was being sold at Rs160.50. Last week, Pakistan received the first tranche of a...
Mobile phone service providers have started the implementation of a Supreme Court (SC) order to remove service/maintenance charges on pre-paid cellular scratch cards, Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) spokesperson Khurram Mehran said on Monday. On a scratch card of Rs100, a user will now receive a balance of Rs88.9 instead of Rs76.94. In a earlier hearing this year, the apex court...
KARACHI/RAWALPINDI/LAHORE: Traders all across the country have shut down their businesses on Saturday in a bid to protest against the inflation and increase in sales tax. All Pakistan Anjuman-e-Tajran (APAT, last week had called for the strike from July 13 against the federal government in several cities of the country for a hike in sales tax in the federal budget....
ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Imran Khan on Thursday cherished overseas Pakistani workers for sending more remittances through banking channels. "Remittances for the past fiscal year came in much higher at 9.7 percent annual growth and totaled $21.8 billion for the year," the Premier said in a tweet. The Premier thanked the overseas workers for the remittances, which he said were much...
ISLAMABAD: Federal Bureau of Revenue Chairman Shabbar Zaidi claimed on Monday that the government has not imposed any new taxes. The chairman FBR was addressing a ceremony in Faisalabad, where he said that there the issue of corruption in sales tax and the officials are automating it. Shabbar Zaidi said that the system will be improved in consultation with the...
ISLAMABAD: The Asian Development Bank (ADB) on Friday approved a $235 million loan to help develop the bus rapid transit (BRT) system in Karachi. “The Karachi Bus Rapid Transit Red Line Project will deliver the 26.6-kilometer (km) Bus Rapid Transit Line Red Line corridor and associated facilities benefiting as many as 1.5 million people, about 10 per cent of Karachi’s...
The extension in the Federal Board of Revenue's (FBR) Assets Declaration Scheme ends on Wednesday. The scheme, which started in May, was initially suppose to end on June 30. However, the government decided to extend the deadline for the scheme to July 3. Under the scheme, assets within the country and abroad (except for real estate) can be whitened at...
KARACHI: Pakistani rupee maintained uptrend on the first working day of the new fiscal year 2019-20 on Tuesday following an increase in the supply of dollars in the economy. The currency improved Rs2 to Rs158 to the US dollar in intra-day trade in the inter-bank market. In totality, the rupee has strengthened Rs6 against the greenback in the two days. The...
ISLAMABAD: The Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority (OGRA) issued a notification on Sunday of gas sale price for domestic, commercial and industrial sectors, which would be effective from July 1. As per the notification, the authority has determined Rs121 per Million British Thermal Unit (MMBTU) for domestic consumers using up to 0.5hm3 (in cubic hectometers) gas per month, Rs300 per...
ISLAMABAD: Adviser to Prime Minister on Finance Dr Abdul Hafeez Shaikh on Sunday said the people of Pakistan are axis of the budget 2019-20 which was approved in a good manner. Speaking in a press conference with the economic team here at the federal capital, the Adviser announced the extension of asset declaration scheme deadline till July 3, and said,...
