ISLAMABAD: Federal Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb rejected the possibility of debt restructuring on the occasion of the Chinese Prime Minister’s visit, speaking to the media after the meeting of the Senate Standing Committee on Finance, he said that the provinces from the next financial year. Will collect income tax based on the new rates.
Answering a question, he said that there is no possibility of immediate rescheduling of Chinese loans, denying media reports of rescheduling of loans on the occasion of the Chinese Prime Minister’s visit to Pakistan, saying that rescheduling of loans is a It is a lengthy process, which will require a lot of time, sources in touch with Chinese negotiators said, adding that this may be Pakistan’s desire, but it is practically non-existent.
It is a long process, which requires a lot of time, it should be noted that Pakistan owes China 16 billion dollars, and Pakistan wishes that the Chinese Prime Minister, on the occasion of his visit to Pakistan, should at least sign a memorandum of understanding. Sign, so that the process of debt re-profiling can be started, but it does not mean immediate relief, it may take three to four years to reach the completion of this negotiation process, remember that on Tuesday, the Finance Minister said in a statement. I had said that two Chinese negotiators were killed in the Karachi attack, but the Finance Division denied the impression that the Chinese engineers who were killed were working in these IPPs.
With whom negotiations are being held, but they had no part in the negotiation process, the federal finance minister added that the provinces will have to make the necessary legal amendments for collection of agricultural income tax by January 2025, and from July 1, 2025, according to the new rates. Taxes will be collected.
Meanwhile, while talking to the high-level delegation of the Asian Development Bank, Senator Muhammad Aurangzeb said that it is necessary to take Pakistan’s economy out of dependence on external loans and change the DNA of the economy for sustainable and inclusive development.
