Islamabad: Federal Finance Minister Miftah Ismail has said that the restoration of the IMF program by the end of this month will bring economic stability while all the conditions regarding the restoration of the program have been fulfilled.
According to a press release issued by the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX), the Finance Minister made this statement during a meeting with PSX officers, officials and traders.
Pakistan Stock Exchange Chairperson Dr Shamshad Akhtar, Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP) Chairperson Aamir Khan, PSX CEO and Managing Director Farrukh H Khan, Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) Chairperson Asim Ahmed, State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) Deputy Governor Dr Inayat Hussain, Special Secretary Finance Owais Manzoor were also present in the meeting.
Among those who met the Finance Minister on this occasion were Chairman of Arif Habib Group, Arif Habib, Chairman of Pakistan Stock Brokers Association and AKD Group, Aqeel Karim Dhedhi, CEO of Bank Al Falah Limited, Atif Bajwa, CEO of NBP Funds. EO Dr. Amjad Waheed, Arif Habib Corporation Director Naseem Baig and Pakistan Business Council CEO Ehsan Malik were also present.
According to the press release, Pakistan’s macro economy, capital market, taxation and non-tax measures were also discussed during the meeting.
During his speech, Miftah Ismail assured that the country’s payments position is under control and the country’s balance of payments will further improve in the coming months due to the increase in hydel power, reduction in energy demand and reduction in oil prices. It will improve.
He further said that the policy of fiscal discipline will be strictly followed and all additional expenditure will be met through tax recovery measures.
He said that 10 percent super tax has been implemented only for one year while alternative sources of revenue are being created.
The finance minister also reiterated that the advance to deposit link tax on banks will not be applied as in the past while the tax revenue from the retail sector this year is expected to be significantly higher than last year.
He also constituted 3 committees out of which the first committee will share private sector position on interest rates with State Bank’s Monetary Policy Committee, the second committee will coordinate with Pakistan Business Council and PSX on all tax issues. .
The third committee set up by Miftah Ismail will examine opportunities for development finance institution (DFI) listing, debt and sukuk issuance, reform of the National Savings Scheme and expansion of a market for exchange rate forward dealing. which can be accessed by all market participants.
The press release stated that Miftah Ismail pledged to review the progress on these issues and meet the stakeholders again within 2 weeks.
On this occasion, Managing Director Farrukh H Khan told the Finance Minister that there is a need to work on the situation of capital markets on a war footing.
He pointed out that state-owned enterprises (SOEs) may be highly profitable but their earnings ratio is only 18 percent.
The participants of the meeting said that the payment ratio of these institutions should be increased to 50%.
The finance minister then directed the concerned ministry to hold an urgent meeting with the stakeholders to discuss the matter.
The participants of the meeting said that the income of listed companies is double taxed while unlisted businesses are taxed much less.
On this occasion, he also expressed his reservations regarding Capital Gains Tax (CGT).
On this occasion, the Finance Minister carefully listened to all the points discussed and accepted the suggestions.
He specifically asked the FBR to immediately review the issue of CGT regime and tax credit for newly listed companies.
He asked the SECP to review the investment limits and (anti-money laundering) requirements for facility accounts.
