On Thursday, Syed Amin Ul Haque, the Federal Minister for IT and Telecommunications proclaimed that some members of Prime Minister Imran Khan’s cabinet are opposing the 75 paisa tax on mobile calls exceed five minutes and promise to get it reversed.
The Minister further revealed this notion while speaking at a contract signing ceremony between the Universal Service Fund (USF) and Jazz, for providing high-speed mobile broadband services in Multan and Khanewal regions of Southern Punjab. The federal minister reassured the telecom business that he is trying to withdraw voice call tax as it is affecting the ordinary man and business as well.
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“In the cabinet meeting on June 11th, 2021, before the budget, when the slide containing proposed tax on mobile calls and data was displayed, the Ministry of IT and Telecom openly objected to it. Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi, Special Assistant on Poverty Alleviation Sania Nishtar, and Federal Minister for Energy Hammad Azhar openly supported the ministry’s stance. Prime Minister referred it to Finance Division and it was withdrawn”, he added.
The administration had originally declared that in order to obtain reasonable profits from this division, federal excise on mobile phone calls exceeding three minutes at Rs. 1 per call, SMS messages at Rs. 0.1 per SMS and internet data usage at Rs. 5 per GB is being proposed.
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Though, after enduring severe criticism, the Minister for Energy, Hammad Azhar, stated that Prime Minister Imran Khan and the Cabinet “did not approve” the federal tax duty on internet data. He promised that the duty will not be incorporated in the final draft of the Finance Bill that will be proposed for approval to the Parliament.
The government’s decision to impose an additional 75 paisa tax after 5 minutes on mobile calls will generally generate an additional Rs. 20 to 30 billion.
Source: Pro Pakistani
