Pakistan Raises Taxes on Banks, Enacts Super Tax on High Earners
Insight from our Asia-Pacific team
Pakistan’s Finance Act 2022 was gazetted on 30 June 2022, with some significant and rather controversial amendments to the measures proposed in the budget announcement on 10 June 2022.
The super tax saw slab rates being introduced for individuals and 10% for industries instead of the originally proposed flat rate of 2%. The new tax on deemed rental income of resident taxpayers will be imposed on capital assets (instead of immovable property), which has provoked accusations of it being a thinly disguised wealth tax. These amendments come at a time of great political and economic uncertainty for Pakistan, and it remains unclear whether they will have the intended effect of appeasing the general masses whilst generating much-needed revenue.