Withholding tax for mobile services reduced up to 10 pc

ISLAMABAD: The federal government has made a reduction in withholding tax rate for mobile services from 12 per cent to 10 per cent in the budget 2021-22, ARY News reported on Friday.

The government has decided to reduce the financial burden on the common citizen by cutting the WHT rate for mobile services. It has been suggested to implement the gradual deduction of WHT.

In the budget for the new fiscal year, federal excise duty (FED) has been imposed on over three-minute mobile phone calls, internet data and SMS. The federal authorities have decided to get reasonable revenue from the telecommunication sector following a visible development.

According to the government, a nominal tax will be imposed on a large portion of the population under the federal excise tax (FED).

Earlier in the day, Finance Minister Shaukat Tarin unveiled the federal budget 2021-22 in the National Assembly (NA) today.

Read: FY2021-22: Rs8.5tr federal budget announced with historic PSDP allocation

During his budget speech, Tarin said that the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf government inherited a crumbling economy that forced the government to take tough decisions.

“PM Khan took out the ill economy from the ICU with his difficult decisions,” he said and added that the premier is not afraid of making the tough decisions.

Sharing the achievements of the incumbent government, Shaukat Tarin during the budget speech said that tax collections saw an 18 per cent increase last year as the country crosses the limit of Rs4000 tax collection. “We have made 75 per cent more tax refunds,” he said.

With an increase of 36.4%, the federal government has proposed Rs900 billion for the development budget for the fiscal year 2021-22.

The federal government has projected Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth rate at 4.8% for the upcoming fiscal year 2021-22.