Web Desk (LTN NEWS): During his trip to Qatar, Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif told the Pakistani public and traders on Tuesday that they would get help.
When he spoke to the country from Doha, the PM talked about what the government was doing to help people, especially small traders, deal with inflation.
The prime minister said that traders will no longer have to pay a fixed tax. Finance Minister Miftah Ismail recently suggested that retailers pay a fixed tax every month that varies in amount. He did this to bring retailers into the tax system and build up much-needed reserves.
Ismail said earlier this month that the government was pulling the plan.
“We took away the fixed tax on traders because we can’t put them through the trouble,” Shehbaz said in Doha. He also said that the government is “working day and night” to control inflation.
“We haven’t done a good job of controlling inflation, but we’re trying,” he said, pointing out that the coalition government’s efforts had kept the country from going bankrupt.
“The previous government did such a bad job that the country was almost bankrupt,” he said, criticizing the PTI regime.
“The fixed tax on traders was put in place against our will,” the Prime Minister said. He also said that a committee had been set up to look into how fixed taxes are put in place.
The PM said that getting rid of the fixed tax would make the tax gap bigger by Rs42 billion, but that the government would find other ways to make up the difference instead of putting the burden on traders.
PM Shehbaz said that if the government buys expensive oil at higher prices, it will be taken into account in the next bills of consumers.
“Fuel adjustments went up in July and August, but 17.1 million people don’t have to pay them,” the prime minister said, adding that his government has been working on fuel adjustments for the past few days.
The PM also said that farmers who use tube wells will not have to pay fuel adjustment charges.
“We are looking into putting fuel adjustment charges on 13 million big electricity users,” he said. Tomorrow, Federal Minister for Energy Khurram Dastgir Khan will explain how fuel adjustment charges work.
The prime minister said, “We need to move forward with courage and consistency.” He also said that the country would have to work hard and honestly.
“I know in my heart that good days will come,” he said, adding that it was useless to cry over the past.
Earlier, Information Minister Marriyum Aurangzeb said on Twitter that the PM will give the public and business owners some relief during his televised address.
