Business

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s tax system needs an overhaul to simplify provisions, close loopholes and ensure equitable distribution of tax burden, the World Bank has said in its latest report. The report, ‘Enabling a Modern and Efficient Tax System’, said despite strategies and proclaimed intentions over the last two decades, the outcomes remain to be attained. “Instead of a complete system overhaul, which …

This Ramazan providing food to the needy at Sehr/Iftar and distribution of ration bags individually and through charities at mosques, offices, bus stops, sidewalks, empty plots, green belts and dedicated spaces has been more visible than before in cities, particularly in Karachi. In the current stressful environment, when the 24/7 news cycle has been adding to the public anxiety and …

ISLAMABAD: The government has officially clipped the size of the Public Sector Development Progra­mme (PSDP) by a quarter to just Rs600 billion compared to the Rs800bn allocation, citing fiscal constraints. This will be the second year in a row that the country’s underfunded infrastructure development will rem­ain constrained by drastic cuts even in funds allocated by the parliament. In the …

Oil prices were steady on Monday as investors eyed Chinese economic data for signs of demand recovery in the world’s second-largest oil consumer. Brent crude futures nudged 7 cents lower to $86.24 a barrel by 0746 GMT, while US West Texas Intermediate crude was at $82.47 a barrel, down 6 cents. Both contracts notched their fourth weekly gain last week …

ISLAMABAD: World Bank sees poverty in Pakistan will inevitably increase with pressures from weak labour markets and high inflation, warning that further delays in external financing, policy slippages, and political uncertainty pose significant risks to the macro poverty outlook. In the absence of higher social spending, the lower middle-income poverty rate is expected to increase to 37.2 per cent in …

ISLAMABAD: Reducing losses and improving the financial viability of State-owned Enterprises (SoEs), a new World Bank report has suggested to the government to reduce or eliminate the longstanding practice of covering SoEs operating losses with transfers from the budget. With the government’s direct financial support to the 14 largest loss-making SOEs at 0.8 per cent and support to all SoEs …

KARACHI: Sales of illicit cigarettes have gone up “massively” after multiple increases in the federal excise duty (FED) in recent months, said Philip Morris Pakistan Ltd chief financial officer Muhammad Zeeshan. Talking to a group of journalists, the representative of one of the two largest cigarette sellers in Pakistan said the illegal trade of sticks was hurting the documented sector …

KARACHI: The stock market commenced the trading week on a negative note mainly because of uncertainty over the resumption of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) programme. Arif Habib Ltd said the positive statement issued by the IMF’s director for the Middle East and Central Asian department about a staff-level agreement with Pakistan helped restore some confidence in the market. Additionally, …

ISLAMABAD: The Federal Tax Ombudsman (FTO) has unearthed glaring discrepancies in rules that facilitated a tax evasion of Rs5.5 billion in the steel sector and suggested ways for recovery from evaders. The ombudsman in its findings recommended to the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) to re-locate the jurisdiction of steel cases from the Corporate Tax Office (CTO) Lahore to Large …

Oil prices edged lower on Friday after the West’s energy watchdog warned that output cuts announced by OPEC+ producers could exacerbate an oil supply deficit and hurt consumers. Brent crude futures were down 10 cents, or 0.12 per cent, to $85.99 per barrel at 0900 GMT. West Texas Intermediate crude futures (WTI) slipped 9 cents, or 0.11pc, to $82.07 a …