Skip to content
Search

Latest Stories

Pakistan PM Sharif announces 10% super tax on large-scale industries

The sectors on which this super tax will be levied include cement, steel, sugar, oil and gas, fertilisers, LNG terminals, textile, banking, automobile, cigarettes, beverages and chemicals, according to the Dawn newspaper.

Pakistan PM Sharif announces 10% super tax on large-scale industries

Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Friday announced a 10 per cent super tax on large-scale industries like cement, steel and automobile, a move he said was aimed at tackling spiralling inflation and saving the cash-strapped country from going "bankrupt."

High net worth individuals will also be subject to a "poverty alleviation tax," Sharif announced after chairing a meeting of his economic team on the federal budget for the next fiscal year 2022-23.


Our first motive is to provide relief to the masses and to reduce the burden of inflation on the people and facilitate them, Sharif said, Geo TV reported.

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 sectors on which this super tax will be levied include cement, steel, sugar, oil and gas, fertilisers, LNG terminals, textile, banking, automobile, cigarettes, beverages and chemicals, according to the Dawn newspaper.

Sharif explained that other motives included stabilisation of the economy.

These aren't just words, this is the voice of my heart and InshaAllah we will be able to achieve all these targets, he said.

He said history had witnessed that in difficult times, it was the poor people who always made sacrifices.

"Today, it is time for the affluent citizens to do their part. It is their turn to show selflessness. And I am confident that they will contribute fully to play their part," Sharif said.

He said the institutions whose job is to collect tax should take from the rich and give to the poor.

Those whose annual income exceeds Rs 150 million will be subject to 1 per cent tax; for Rs 200 million, 2 per cent; Rs 250 million 3 per cent; and Rs 300 million will be taxed 4 per cent of their income, the Dawn report said.

Meanwhile, the Pakistan Stock Exchange's benchmark KSE-100 index witnessed a 4.81 per cent drop after Sharif's announcement, it said.

The premier on Thursday had warned that the country may witness more difficult times as it struggles to steer itself out of the ongoing economic crisis.

(PTI)

More For You

Trump

Trump said the suspect had been arrested earlier for 'terrible crimes,' including child sex abuse, grand theft auto and false imprisonment, but was released under the Biden administration because Cuba refused to take him back.

Getty Images

Trump says accused in Dallas motel beheading will face first-degree murder charge

US PRESIDENT Donald Trump has described Chandra Mouli “Bob” Nagamallaiah, the Indian-origin motel manager killed in Dallas, as a “well-respected person” and said the accused will face a first-degree murder charge.

Nagamallaiah, 50, was killed last week at the Downtown Suites motel by co-worker Yordanis Cobos-Martinez, a 37-year-old undocumented Cuban immigrant with a criminal history.

Keep ReadingShow less
Starmer Mandelson

Starmer talks with Mandelson during a welcome reception at the ambassador's residence on February 26, 2025 in Washington, DC.

Getty

Starmer under pressure from party MPs after Mandelson dismissal

PRIME MINISTER Keir Starmer is facing questions within the Labour party after the sacking of US ambassador Peter Mandelson.

Mandelson was removed last week after Bloomberg published emails showing messages of support he sent following Jeffrey Epstein’s conviction for sex offences. The dismissal comes just ahead of US president Donald Trump’s state visit.

Keep ReadingShow less
Nepal’s new leader pledges to act on Gen Z calls to end corruption

Officials greet newly-elected Prime Minister of Nepal's interim government Sushila Karki (R) as she arrives at the prime minister's office in Kathmandu on September 14, 2025. (Photo by PRABIN RANABHAT/AFP via Getty Images)

Nepal’s new leader pledges to act on Gen Z calls to end corruption

NEPAL’s new interim prime minister Sushila Karki on Sunday (14) pledged to act on protesters’ calls to end corruption and restore trust in government, as the country struggles with the aftermath of its worst political unrest in decades.

“We have to work according to the thinking of the Gen Z generation,” Karki said in her first address to the nation since taking office on Friday (12). “What this group is demanding is the end of corruption, good governance and economic equality. We will not stay here more than six months in any situation. We will complete our responsibilities and hand over to the next parliament and ministers.”

Keep ReadingShow less
UK secures £1.25bn US investment ahead of Trump’s visit

US president Donald Trump and UK prime minister Sir Keir Starmer arrive at Trump International Golf Links on July 28, 2025 in Balmedie, Scotland. (Photo by Jane Barlow-WPA Pool/Getty Images)

UK secures £1.25bn US investment ahead of Trump’s visit

THE British government has announced over £1.25 billion ($1.69bn) in fresh investment from major US financial firms, including PayPal, Bank of America, Citigroup and S&P Global, ahead of a state visit by president Donald Trump.

The investment is expected to create 1,800 jobs across London, Edinburgh, Belfast and Manchester, and deepen transatlantic financial ties, the Department for Business and Trade said.

Keep ReadingShow less
Nearly 150,000 join anti-migrant protest in London as clashes erupt

Protesters wave Union Jack and St George's England flags during the "Unite The Kingdom" rally on Westminster Bridge by the Houses of Parliament on September 13, 2025 in London, England. (Photo by Christopher Furlong/Getty Images)

Nearly 150,000 join anti-migrant protest in London as clashes erupt

MORE THAN 100,000 protesters marched through central London on Saturday (13), carrying flags of England and Britain and scuffling with police in one of the UK's biggest right-wing demonstrations of modern times.

London's Metropolitan Police said the "Unite the Kingdom" march, organised by anti-immigrant activist Tommy Robinson, was attended by nearly 150,000 people, who were kept apart from a "Stand Up to Racism" counter-protest attended by around 5,000.

Keep ReadingShow less