Pakistan’s new taxes

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan must raise an extra $379 million through new tax measures, the finance minister said on Monday, as the government seeks to qualify for its latest IMF loan tranche. Earlier this month, the IMF approved the release in December of a $502 million tranche of Pakistan’s three-year $6.68 billion programme, even though the government missed targets for tax revenue generation, net domestic assets and the budget deficit. The government will levy an additional five to 10 percentage points of tax on 350 items and raise customs duty by one percentage point, Finance Minister Ishaq Dar said in the capital Islamabad. The full list of items was not immediately available.