The 15% additional income tax on banks may remain in place after Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif intervened on Thursday, directing authorities not to provide any relief to the banks. The premier’s intervention came as the government finalised new tax avenues that might be announced today (Friday) during the approval of the Budget 2024-25. The National Assembly is expected to approve the new budge
Pakistan’s trade deficit with the Middle East narrowed by 24.43 per cent to $11.81 billion in the first 11 months of the current fiscal year from $15.63bn over the same period last year, mainly attributed to a decrease in the import of petroleum products from the region. The trade imbalance with the region has decreased since the beginning of FY24, primarily because of reduced consumption of pe
Ahead of a substantial price hike, the Pakistan Petroleum Dealers Association (PPDA) on Thursday accused major oil marketing companies (OMCs) of creating an artificial shortage of petroleum products to earn windfall inventory gains and appealed to the government and the Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority (Ogra) for urgent intervention in the situation. Oil industry officials said the price hike i
The Central Development Working Party (CDWP) on Thursday cleared a total of 26 development projects worth Rs900 billion, most of them in the transport and communication sector. Presided over by Deputy Chairman Planning Commission Mohammad Jehanzeb Khan, the CDWP itself approved 17 projects worth Rs33bn and recommended nine others worth Rs867bn to the Executive Committee of the National Economic
The profits and dividends on foreign investment have increased by almost six times during the first 11 months of the current fiscal year over the same period of the last fiscal. The profits and dividends were deliberately restricted by the State Bank (SBP) in FY23 to save its reserves at a time when the country had reached close to sovereign default at the end of June last year. Data issued