Pakistan, IMF inching towards stalled programme
Top Story
The logo of International Monetary Fund.
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan and the IMF are inching towards formal revival of the stalled Fund programme, as the government has decided to hike power tariff by 25-30 percent and to abolish up to Rs200 billion corporate sector income tax exemptions.
The top political leadership has given go-ahead to the economic team to fulfill all the required prerequisites for revival of the stalled programme under $6 billion Extended Fund Facility (EFF).
“The power tariff will be hiked in a gradual manner up to 25 to 30 percent in a bid to fulfill the IMF condition,” top official sources confided to this correspondent. The IMF program stalled in February 2020 after the COVID-19 outbreak. The second review is now under completion and it is yet to be seen whether the second and third reviews will complete simultaneously or these will be done separately. The IMF and FBR teams held a virtual crucial r
Top Story
December 23, 2020
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan and the IMF are inching towards formal revival of the stalled Fund programme, as the government has decided to hike power tariff by 25-30 percent and to abolish up to Rs200 billion corporate sector income tax exemptions.
The top political leadership has given go-ahead to the economic team to fulfill all the required prerequisites for revival of the stalled programme under $6 billion Extended Fund Facility (EFF).
“The power tariff will be hiked in a gradual manner up to 25 to 30 percent in a bid to fulfill the IMF condition,” top official sources confided to this correspondent. The IMF program stalled in February 2020 after the COVID-19 outbreak. The second review is now under completion and it is yet to be seen whether the second and third reviews will complete simultaneously or these will be done separately.
FBR Planning to Remove These Corporate Income Tax Exemptions
The Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) is presently reviewing the following list of corporate income tax exemptions with revenue impact for possible withdrawal before the next fiscal year:
Tax credit for investment in balancing, modernization, and replacement of plant and machinery (corporate manufacturing sector), Rs. 65.168 billion.
Tax credit for enlistment in Stock Exchange (Companies opting for enlistment in a registered stock exchange), Rs. 357 million.
Tax credit for newly established industrial undertakings corporate industrial units (including corporate dairy farming), Rs. 5.573 billion.
Tax credit for industrial undertakings established before the first day of July 2011 (corporate industrial units including corporate dairy farming), Rs. 6.486 billion.
Karachi
December 13, 2020
Mindful of challenges associated with any big public welfare initiative, Defence Housing Authority (DHA) residents believe that it would not be easy to revive DHA Cogen Limited, which will generate electricity and supply desalinated water under a memorandum of understanding signed on Friday.
Under the MoU that the Hub Power Company’s (Hubco) signed with the DHA, the revived company will generate and supply 84 megawatts of electricity to K-Electric, besides providing three million gallons of potable water to the Cantonment Board Clifton (CBC) per day.
Additionally, Hubco and the DHA plan to develop five million gallons of potable water per day through a project based on sea water reverse osmosis technology, for which Hubco already possesses the first right of refusal, an official of the power company has told The News.
Stocks extended the bullish spell on Friday with the KSE-100 index recording gains of 164.56 points (0.39 per cent) to settle at 42,470.40. AFP/File
KARACHI: Stocks extended the bullish spell on Friday with the KSE-100 index recording gains of 164.56 points (0.39 per cent) to settle at 42,470.40.
The index made intra-day high by 322 points. Although select stocks on the technology and refinery sectors continued to show price flare up, the exploration & production sector also saw substantial rise in the stock price on reports of international prices of WTI crude increasing by 4pc. Brent also crossed $50 per barrel for the first time since March.