How will the common man be affected by the obvious and hidden taxes of the mini budget?

 How will the common man be affected by the obvious and hidden taxes of the mini budget?

Under the Finance Supplementary Bill 2023 or Mini Budget presented in Parliament by Federal Finance Minister Ishaq Dar, the target of collecting additional taxes of 170 billion rupees has been set by him.

In order to meet the strict conditions of IMF and to reduce the budget deficit, the mini budget has proposed to increase the tax rate in various sectors.

The decision to increase the prices of gas, electricity, petrol and other basic necessities has given the government the possibility of reviving the IMF loan program, the installment of which is over one billion dollars has been suspended so far.

However, according to economists, the common man will be badly affected by further increase in the rate of inflation in the country.

According to him, with these measures, the recovery of the IMF program is possible to a large extent, but the daily life may become more difficult due to the decrease in the income of the common people.

What tax measures were taken in the Mini Budget?

In the mini budget presented by the Federal Finance Minister, a target of additional tax collection of 170 billion rupees has been set.

Most notable for this additional revenue is the move to increase the sales tax (GST) rate from 17 to 18 percent, which will be applicable to all sectors, while the sales tax rate on luxury goods will be increased from 17 to 25 percent. has been given.

The rate of federal excise duty on cigarettes and beverages has been increased, while the rate on cement has also been increased from Rs 1.50 per kg to Rs 2 per kg.

An excise duty of twenty percent or fifty thousand rupees, whichever is higher, will be levied on first class and business class airline tickets.

How will the tax measures of the Mini Budget increase the rate of inflation?

Among the tax measures taken in the mini-budget presented by Pakistan's Finance Minister Ishaq Dar, the sales tax rate is to be increased from 17 to 18 percent.

According to economists, an increase in the sales tax rate will actually cause an increase in the rate of inflation because the sales tax is levied on consumption, i.e. the use of goods, and this increase will increase the prices of goods whose price is a normal value. User will have to pay.

Economist Dr. Ashfaq Hasan Khan told the BBC that the increase in the sales tax rate will lead to an increase in the prices of daily necessities.