According to an ARY News report, Pakistan has seen a notable rise in inflation following the introduction of the 2024-25 Budget, with the weekly inflation rate increasing by 1.28 percent.
Annual inflation has surged to 23.59 percent, according to the latest weekly report from the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS), which noted that prices of 29 essential commodities increased over the past week, while five remained stable and 17 declined.
In particular, tomato prices increased by 70.77 percent to over PKR 200 per kilogram. Flour prices increased by 10.57 percent, milk powder by 8.90 percent, diesel by 3.58 percent, petrol by 2.88 percent and LPG by 1.63 percent, according to the PBS.
Prices of chicken, pulses and garlic also increased, while onion prices and potato prices fell by 9.05 percent and 1.04 percent, respectively, during the same period.
As previously reported on July 1, Consumer Price Index (CPI) inflation rose to 12.6% year-on-year in June 2024, up from 29.4% in June of the previous year. On a month-on-month basis, CPI inflation rose 0.5% in June 2024, compared to a 3.2% decrease in the previous month and a 0.3% decrease in June 2023.
The Pakistan government on June 29 announced new tax measures in several sectors as well as extending tax exemptions in certain sectors to generate additional revenue in the coming fiscal year to meet International Monetary Fund norms.
Pakistan’s finance minister announced new measures in parliament, including the introduction of a capital value tax on real estate in Islamabad and new tax measures for builders and developers, local newspapers reported.
In an amendment to the Finance Bill 2024, tabled in Parliament on June 12, the government reduced the Petroleum Development Levy (PDL) on diesel and petrol from 80 Pakistani Rupees (PKR) per litre to 70, up from the existing 60.
Despite the protests, exporters will pay the standard corporate tax rate of 29 percent, plus surcharges where applicable. This is a significant change from the previous 1 percent tax rate on export turnover, Dawn reported. Individuals (salaried and non-salaried) and entities earning more than PKR 10 million per year will be subject to a 10 percent surcharge on their income tax.
Amid a severe economic crisis, Pakistan’s parliament recently passed a tax-increasing finance bill for the next fiscal year as negotiations continue over a new bailout package from the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
(Except for the headline, this article has not been edited by Newsx staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
