PM Shehbaz Sharif explains rationale behind super tax

Hours after announcing a super tax on “affluent people”, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif took to Twitter to “explain the rationale behind the announcement”. 

In a series of tweets, PM Shehbaz said that when the coalition government came to power, it had “two paths open to it”. One path was to go for elections and leave the economy broken, the other was to address the economic challenges first, adding that the government chose the second option.

“We opted to save Pakistan from economic quagmire even if it involved political risks. We put Pakistan first,” said PM Shehbaz, adding that the budget presented by the government “contains the plan for revival of the economy”.

“The hard decisions we have taken will enable the country to overcome the economic crisis. The government has tried its best to place the minimum burden on lower-income and salaried class,” said the premier.

PM Shehbaz said that the government has imposed the 10% super tax “for the purpose of poverty alleviation”.

“We have asked our affluent segment of society to fulfil the national duty by sharing the burden, for it is the poor who have always borne the brunt and rendered sacrifices for the country,” said the premier.

“Macroeconomic stability is the first step. What the coalition government is aiming to achieve is economic self-sufficiency. This precisely is the spirit of the budget. Our national security is very closely tied to economic reliance,” concluded the premier.

PM Shehbaz announces 10% super tax on large-scale industries

Earlier today, PM Shehbaz Sharif announced that the coalition government plans to impose a 10% super tax on large-scale industries, and that “tough decisions” have been taken to protect the economy on budget 2022-23.

Addressing the nation, after a meeting with his economic team, the premier said that the coalition government has taken some “tough decisions” regarding the federal budget for the next fiscal year 2022-23. “I want to brief the people about those decisions and the actual [economic] situation of the country,” he said, highlighting the two major reasons behind these decisions.

“Our first motive is to provide relief to the masses and to reduce the burden of inflation on the people and facilitate them,” he elaborated.

“Our second motive is to protect the country from going bankrupt," he said, adding that it has been devastated due to the "incompetency and corruption" of the previous Imran Khan-led government.

The decisions taken now will save the country from bankruptcy, he vowed.