Opposition leaders and industry players Friday slammed the coalition government for imposing a 10% super tax on 13 major large-scale industries, saying that the decision would lead to the “closure of industries.”
Addressing a press conference, PTI leaders Asad Umar, Hammad Azhar, and former finance minister Shaukat Tarin said that the measure would force industries to shut down — a move which will eventually lead to a “storm of inflation”.
Tarin, while taking a swipe at the coalition government, said that it talks about taking care of the poor, but its actions show otherwise.
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif announced a 10% super tax on sectors, including sugar, oil and gas, cement, steel, airlines, fertilisers, LNG terminals, textile, banking, automobile, cigarettes, beverages, and chemicals.
“If they [government] does not announce elections afresh, Pakistan’s state would be similar to that of Sri Lanka,” he said, accusing the new government is lying about the economic situation.
Shedding light on the immediate reaction of the market, he highlighted that the currency once again lost its value while a blood bath was witnessed at Pakistan stock exchange.
Later, the former finance minister also took to his Twitter to accuse Federal Minister of Finance and Revenue Miftah Ismail of ignoring the “stellar” economic performance during PTI’s tenure.
“Miftah mian, with an overseas PhD, should have enabled you to acknowledge your own approved economic survey which documents stellar PTI performance in the last two years,” he wrote.
“You refuse to accept it as it exposes your narrative. [The] market does not believe you,” he added
