PM’s Rs200b industrial package in doldrums

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has not only objected to Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s Rs200 billion package aimed at reducing power tariff for industrial consumers by Rs10.69 per unit but also did not endorse the proposal of imposing wealth tax on all types of assets, including bank balances. The sources said that in lieu of reducing tax burden of some sectors, the government proposed to slap 0.1% wealth tax on all assets, including bank balances and shares and 0.5% wealth tax on the assets declared in the wealth statements by taxpayers. However, the IMF has objected to slapping the wealth tax on the cash stashed in bank accounts, they added. The sources said that after excluding the bank balances of the depositors, the revenue impact of the remaining assets is not very high, thus, the government may not introduce the wealth tax on Friday.