Finance Minister Ishaq Dar has said that the government is considering eliminating a 2% final tax on the acquisition of real estate for Pakistanis living abroad in an effort to promote remittances via official channels.
In his budget address to the National Assembly on Friday, the financial czar said that “remittances are a crucial part of foreign exchange reserves, representing 90% of the country’s exports.”
To encourage remittances via official channels, the government has also suggested the implementation of a “diamond card” for anyone contributing over $50,000 in addition to removing the final tax on immovable property.
The “diamond card” entitles holders to exceptional rewards via drawings, one non-prohibited firearms licence, a free passport, priority access to Pakistani embassies and consulates and fast-track immigration at Pakistani airports.
As the crisis-ridden nation seeks to convince the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to release further bailout money, Dar made the plan as he unboxed a Rs14.46 trillion budget for the fiscal year 2023–24, introducing “no new taxes” and projecting an economic growth of 3.5%.
The IMF has been informed of Pakistan’s budget statistics, and the finance minister is certain that the lender would have no more concerns given that they are compliant with the program’s conditions.
Dar, who delivered the second budget of the Pakistan Democratic Movement-led administration, which took office in April of last year, returned to the platform to deliver the federal budget after a five-year absence.