In accordance with Article 75 of the Constitution, which mandates that the president give his assent to a measure brought to him within 10 days, President Dr. Arif Alvi has granted his permission for the Finance (Supplementary) Bill 2023, also referred to as the mini-budget.
With certain amendments, the National Assembly approved the mini-budget for Rs170 billion, which will have a yearly impact of around Rs550 billion.
The ratification of the budget has taken Pakistan and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) closer to a deal, but at the expense of trapping more people in poverty.
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Even though the president had not granted his approval when the National Assembly passed the bill, the majority of the taxes provisions had already been put into place.
In his closing remarks, Finance Minister Ishaq Dar acknowledged that the people were suffering from intolerable inflation and chastised the previous administration of former Prime Minister Imran Khan for its poor management.
Dar further acknowledged that the IMF had required the steps, which the government had refused, and that the news reports concerning levies totaling between Rs675 billion and Rs700 billion were accurate. The majority of the major concerns with the IMF, according to Dar, have been resolved, and Pakistan is now extremely close to reaching a staff-level agreement.
