ISLAMABAD - The government today presented an economic reforms package envisaging revolutionary incentives and measures to encourage investment, exports, ease of doing business and strengthen important sectors of the national economy.
Finance Minister Asad Umar presented the package through The Finance Supplementary (Second Amendment Bill), 2019 before the National Assembly in Islamabad today.
The Finance Minister announced to reduce the tax for the small and medium enterprises sector from 39 percent to twenty percent to encourage business activity by low income investors especially the youth.
The finance minister also announced to cut interest rate at the agricultural loans from 39 percent to 20 percent to bolster the agriculture sector.
The Minister said the Agri-loans have already witnessed twenty-two percent boost during the PTI governments’ first six months.
Asad Umar also announced to reduce income tax on housing schemes for low income people from 39 percent to 20 percent to encourage housing sector under Prime Minister’s project for construction of five million Houses for the middle and lower middle classes of the society.
Touching upon the taxation sector, the Minister declared to abolish withholding tax on banking deposits and transactions for the filers. He said non-filers would now be allowed to purchase automobiles upto 1300cc. However, their tax rate will be enhanced to generate more revenue and encourage the people to become filers.
To promote ease of doing business, Asad Umar declared that the business community will now be required to file their statements about withholding tax only twice in a year from the previous practice of filling twelve statements in a year.
Earlier, responding to the points of Opposition Leader Shahbaz Sharif on the Sahiwal incident, Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi said that a transparent inquiry was conducted into the tragic Sahiwal incident through a joint investigation team.
He said prompt action has been taken against the concerned police officers by removing and suspending them from their positions. He said an FIR has also been registered against the officers involved in the encounter and their case will be taken up by an anti-terrorism court. He said unlike the previous governments we did not protect the officers who abused the power.
At the outset of proceedings, the House offered fateha for the departed soul of former Parliamentarian Malik Hakmeen Khan.
The House will now meet at 11 a.m. tomorrow.