NA: Amendments to finance bill may be presented today

ISLAMABAD: The government is likely to present amendments to the Finance Bill 2022, in the National Assembly Tuesday (June 28) with additional taxation measures including the imposition of 10 percent supertax on 13 sectors/industries.

Sources said that the amendments to the Finance Bill are still being given a final shape as the opposition member of the Senate Standing Committee on Finance has described the changes as a ‘mini-budget’.

Senator Mohsin Aziz said that the government has presented a ‘mini-budget’ through amendments to the Finance Bill 2022 to impose additional taxes of over Rs400 billion.

In budget (2022-23), the FBR has taken taxation measures of Rs440 billion with additional measures of over Rs350 billion, total measures now stood at Rs790 billion for 2022-23. The additional revenue of Rs466 billion is required to meet the upward revised revenue collection target of Rs7,470 billion for 2022-23.

Aziz further stated that the amended Finance Bill 2022 is entirely different from the one which was shared with the committee and Senate. This is a ‘mini-budget’. The original Finance Bill 2022 has not mentioned 10 per cent supertax on 13 sectors.

The senator stated that the government has imposed the supertax and withdrawn the tax relief to the salaried class and others which was presented in the Senate and subsequently to the Standing committee on finance for the recommendations. These are taxation measures which cannot be approved without the passage of the Senate.

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He stated that this is a new budget and if it is approved without being presented in the Senate its legality would remain questionable and anyone can move courts against the additional taxation measures taken through the amended Bill 2022.

We are considering to requisite Senate session as soon as it is convened they will take up this matter in the upper house, he added.

When contacted, Chairman of the Senate Finance Committee Saleem Mandviwalla said that the National Assembly can make and approve the changes in the Finance Bill 2022, and it does not require resubmitting to the Senate.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2022