Whooping increase in airfares angers Fawad Chaudhry
Pakistan
PTI leaders says overseas Pakistanis are fed up with the PDM govt
ISLAMABAD (Dunya News) – Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leader Fawad Chaudhry lashed out at the federal government for imposing massive tax on air tickets.
Taking to Twitter, the former information minister said the treatment being meted out to the overseas Pakistanis by the governments was “shameful”. He said Rs75,000 had been imposed in wake of tax on air tickets for Sharjah.
Similarly, the tax on tickets for the US flights would increase by Rs250,000 and Rs150,000 on tickets for Europe, he lamented, adding that overseas were fed up with the PDM-led government.
His reaction comes a day after the National Assembly passed the Finance “(Supplementary) Bill, 2023,” proposing additional taxes and duties of Rs170 billion to meet the understanding reached with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for the Extended Fund Facility.
— Ch Fawad Hussain (@fawadchaudhry) February 21, 2023
According to the bill, General Sales Tax (GST) will be increased from 17 per cent to 18pc. It has been decided to enhance the GST on luxury items from 17pc to 25pc.
For the air travel, it has been proposed that a fixed amount of Federal Excise Duty (FED) ranging from Rs75,000 to Rs250,000 of different tiers as per the International Air Transport Association on airfare for first, business and club classes should be imposed.
Besides, 10pc withholding adjustable advance tax will be levied on the bills of wedding halls in order to promote simplicity and austerity. The FED will be enhanced on sugary and aerated drinks, while FED will be increased on cement from 1.5 rupees to two rupees per kilogrammes.
Winding up discussion on the Finance (Supplementary) Bill, Finance Minister Ishaq Dar said the government fully realizes people’s problems due to rising inflation, but are compelled to take tough measures to strengthen the economy.
