National Assembly approves Rs 50 petroleum levy in budget

ISLAMABAD: The National Assembly passed an amendment in the Finance Bill to approve Rs 50 per litre petroleum development levy on all POL products, ARY News reported on Wednesday.

The session of the lower house of the parliament continued clause-wise approval of the finance bill.

The house passed the finance bill 2022-23 presented by Minister of State for Finance Ayisha Ghous Pasha in its session today.

All budget proposals from the opposition members were rejected with majority vote.

Finance Minister Miftah Ismail told the house that 50 rupees per litre will not be imposed in one go. “Presently their is zero petroleum levy,” he explained. The levy will be gradually increased by Rs 5 per month to reach a maximum of Rs 50, approved by the house.

The clause with regard to recovery of sales tax from traders via electricity bills and five percent tax on software and I.T. consultants was also approved by the house.

No tax imposed over Rs. 50,000 per month salary in the new tax regime for the salaried class.

The government has decided to impose greater tax on salaried individuals, the people earning between Rs. 50,000 and Rs. 100,000 per month would now be charged income tax of 2.5% against the fixed rate of Rs. 100 that had been announced in the budget speech earlier. For earners of Rs. 100,000-200,000 per month, a flat tax of 15,000 rupees per annum has been fixed, while the proposed tax rate has been jacked up to 12.5% for the amount exceeding 1,00,000 rupees.

Individuals earning between Rs. 2.4 million and 3.6 million per year would be charged a fixed rate of Rs. 165,000 in addition to 20 percent of the amount exceeding 2.4 million, while people whose taxable income exceeds Rs. 3.6 million but is below Rs. 6 million would be charged a fixed rate of Rs. 405,000 plus 25 percent of the amount exceeding 3.6 million.

Meanwhile, individuals with an annual income between Rs. 6 million and Rs. 12 million would be charged Rs. 1.005 million plus 32.5 percent of the amount exceeding 6 million, and anyone earning more than Rs. 12 million, would be charged taxes of Rs. 2.955 million plus 35% of the amount exceeding 12 million.