No new tax on agri and real estate: Dar

ISLAMABAD: The coalition government had no plans of imposing new taxes on agriculture and the real estate sector, Finance Minister Ishaq Dar said on Friday.

Speaking on the floor of the National Assembly, Dar said the government had already “endured much pain” in fulfilling the prerequisite conditions set by the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

The IMF approved a $3 billion bailout package to aid Pakistan’s economic situation. $1.2 billion has already been disbursed to the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP).

According to some media reports, the global lender asked the government for a plan to impose taxes on agriculture and real estate before the transfer of the remaining amount.

The finance minister told the lower house that agriculture sector expressed concern over the reports. He assured that the the government expanded the loan volume from Rs1.8 to Rs2.25 billion in the budget.

He said the government would pass “no further burden on the masses.”

All of IMF’s demands have already been met, and the agreement was done in a transparent manner, according to Dar.

Meanwhile, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates have deposited $2 billion and $1 billion respectively to SBP. China has also rolled over $5 billion in loans in the last three months to save the country from default.

This week, Pakistan’s foreign currency reserves crossed the $8 billion threshold for the first time since October 2022, signalling a potential economic revival.

Read more: SBP’s foreign exchange reserves soar by 90 per cent