Cash-strapped Pakistan witnessed the highest-ever single-year increase in tax exemptions or concessions, surging by 73.24 per cent or Rs1.64 trillion in the outgoing fiscal year. The Pakistan Economic Survey 2023-24, released by Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb on Tuesday, showed that the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) doled out a record Rs3.879tr in FY24 compared to Rs2.239tr in FY23. The c
As many as 4.5 million individuals are unemployed in the country, with the youth aged 15-24 having the highest unemployment rate of 11.1 per cent, according to the Pakistan Economic Survey 2023-24 released on Tuesday. These figures are based on the 2020-21 Labour Force Survey, after which no employment survey has been conducted during the last three years, highlighting the apathetic attitude of
The stock market on Monday continued its losing streak for the sixth straight day ahead of the monetary policy announcement later in the evening and persisting gloomy investor sentiments associated with challenging budgetary proposals in line with IMF conditions to secure another bailout. Ahsan Mehanti of Arif Habib Corporation said stocks closed under pressure amid pre-budget uncertainty and c
Wholesale and retail trade is one segment that barely pays any direct taxes and often creates the most noise whenever there is any effort to extract even a minimal amount of tax. Ammar H Khan Published June 11, 2024 Updated about 4 hours ago Listen to article Wholesale and retail trade make up 18.1 per cent of Pakistan’s Gross Domestic Product while contributing only 2pc in direct taxes. On t
CITING a better-than-anticipated decline in May’s inflation figures, the State Bank ceded to rate cut demands on Monday, by slashing its policy rate by 150bps to 20.5pc, after having held it steady at a record 22pc for nearly a year. The bank also mentioned the uptick in economic activity, and improvements in the external sector outlook and international reserves, resulting from a lower current