Govt decides against taxing phone calls, SMS and internet
Cabinet has rejected the proposal: Shaukat Tarin
ISLAMABAD (Dunya News) – Finance Minister Shaukat Tarin on Saturday announced that government has decided not to impose tax on phone calls, SMS and internet data.
The minister, while addressing a post-budget press conference, said that cabinet has rejected the proposal of receiving Rs1 over three-minute mobile phone calls and 10 paisa on SMS.
Shaukat Tarin further said that after achieving economic stability, now plan was under progress to lead the country towards sustainable growth for which the country would need to enhance exports.
Primary focus of the government was now to promote exports and take them upto 20 percent of GDP from just current 8 percent, adding that for bringing stability in the country, there was dire need to enhance exports, the minister said while addressing the post-budget press conference.
The minister further said that another primary focus of the ‘inclusive growth-oriented’ federal budget for the fiscal year 2021-22 was to uplift the poor so that they would not have to wait for trickledown effect of economic progress.
For the past seventy four years, the low-income people have been waiting for this trickledown effect, but their condition could not be improved and they remained deprived of houses, businesses, cash and health facilities, the minister added.
He said the government was now directly targeting the poorest of the poor and facilitating them with different initiatives to upgrade their life standard without waiting for trickledown effect, which he said needed around 20 years of stable economic growth to take effect.
