Pakistan’s tax exemption was 21 billion dollars; Excess loan repayment: Economic survey shows

Pakistan’s tax exemption in various fields spent the country more than $ 21 billion this year, more than $ 17 billion needs to be repaid in commercial and bilateral external loans, as revealed in the latest economic survey.Pakistan Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb on Monday presented the Economic Survey of Pakistan 2024-25, outlining various economic development and indicators for the financial year.The survey indicated that the cost of tax exemption was Rs 5.8 trillion in FY 2024-25, which is showing a sufficient increase of Rs 2 trillion from the previous year under the current year, according to the news agency PTI.The survey revealed the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) government, despite the removal of several discounts in its previous budget, an increase of 1.96 trillion or 51% in tax expenses.The Economic Survey shows that tax concessions and exemption are increasing annually, despite several attempts to reduce them. These exemptions installed over time are preserved under three separate tax laws.Sales tax exemption reached 4.3 trillion rupees in the outgoing financial year, which saw an increase of 50% from Rs 2.9 trillion in the previous period.The income tax exemption increased by 68% to Rs 801 billion from Rs 477 billion, while the government increased the tax burden on salaried persons, but maintained exemption for other areas such as retailers.According to the report, customs exemption increased from Rs 243 billion or Rs 45% from Rs 786 billion to Rs 543 billion before Rs 786 billion.The 5.8 trillion rupees in the “tax expenditure for 2025” question the reliability of the previously reported damage.The continuous increase in tax expenditure, despite government efforts to reduce them, suggests either the implementation of several unknown tax exemption or underporting of previous data. The report states that the rapid increase in tax exemption cost is not due to any major increase in economic activity.