Islamabad: Following the announcement of the imposition of a “super tax” on large-scale industries by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, Federal Minister for Finance and Revenue Miftah Ismail clarified the air about the decision saying it would help to curtail budget deficits.
Read: 10% super tax on big industries announced by PM Shehbaz
In a tweet, Miftah Ismail said that the super tax of 4 per cent would apply to all sectors.
Just to clarify: the super tax of 4% will be applicable to all sectors. But for the specified 13 sectors, another 6% will be added for a total of 10%. So their tax rates will go from 29% to 39%. This is a one-time tax needed to curtail the previous four record budget deficits.
— Miftah Ismail (@MiftahIsmail) June 24, 2022
However, he added, the industries that earn more than Rs 300 million would pay an additional 6 per cent, taking the total number to 10 per cent.
Miftah Ismail mentioned that, in total, 13 large-scale industries would pay 10 per cent per the decision.
Adding to his clarification, Miftah Ismail said that this “super tax” would be a one-time levy, applicable only during the fiscal year 2022-2023. According to the finance minister, this would help narrow down the budget deficit.
Speaking in the National Assembly, Miftah said that the super tax would be imposed on 13 sectors, i.e. sugar, cement, steel, textile, tobacco, fertiliser, bank, oil and gas, beverages, automobile, chemical, airlines and LNG terminals.
“These thirteen industries made huge profits last year, and hence, they were identified by the government for super tax,” he said.
It is pertinent to mention here that with the imposition of this “super tax”, the tax rate for certain industries would jump from currently 29 per cent to 39 per cent.