Express
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Pakistan budget to significantly reduce government debt, rating agency Fitch predicts | The Express Tribune
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[ad_1] Fitch forecasts Pakistan’s FY25 budget to significantly reduce government debt, which is projected to decline to 68% of GDP by the end of FY24. This reduction is attributed to high inflation and deflator effects, which help offset soaring domestic interest costs. Fitch Ratings forecasts a concurrent decline in both inflation and interest costs, driven…
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Instead of taxing ‘holy cows’, govt to butcher milk consumers | The Express Tribune
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[ad_1] ISLAMABAD: The PML-N-led coalition government has dropped a price bomb of over Rs250 billion on milk consumers by proposing an 18% general sales tax (GST) on every litre of packaged milk being sold in the country. Interestingly, the Shehbaz Sharif government has targeted a segment related to people’s nutrition, disregarding the sad fact that…
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Soaring stocks, collapsing economy | The Express Tribune
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[ad_1] KARACHI: Pakistan’s stock market is soaring and it just recently crossed a record high. This would normally be good news were it not for the fact that as the stock market soars the real economy is in freefall. There is near unbearable inflation and unemployment, interest rates are at record highs, the poor are…
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Challenging crosswinds: Pakistan’s trade pattern | The Express Tribune
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[ad_1] KARACHI: The latest indicators of external trade, released by the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS), show a continuing decline in trade deficit in the first 11 months of FY24, driven by rising exports and decreasing imports. The trade deficit, reported at $21.7 billion, decreased by 15.3% year-on-year, while exports increased by 10.7% and imports…
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Balancing growth with fiscal realities in budget 2024-25 | The Express Tribune
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[ad_1] KARACHI: The real task of budget makers was to present policy prescriptions that adhere to the broader contours of the International Monetary Fund (IMF). Apparently, the IMF has given a green signal, and the budget is good to go, pending last-minute tweaks to appease coalition partners. Indeed, the budget poses a significant challenge for…
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Govt unlikely to buy spot LNG in summer | The Express Tribune
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[ad_1] KARACHI: Pakistan is unlikely to buy liquefied natural gas (LNG) cargoes on the spot market until at least the beginning of winter in November due to oversupply and high prices, its petroleum minister told Reuters. Extreme temperatures across Asia have pushed countries to seek more cargoes of LNG to address higher power demand, driving…
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Govt rethinks tax proposals amid high cost of living | The Express Tribune
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[ad_1] ISLAMABAD: The government has kicked off consultations with a view to reconsider a partial rollback of the proposed income tax rate increases for salaried individuals and exporters, alongside implementing the proposed 18% sales tax on infant milk in stages. The internal deliberations come in the wake of sharp criticism from all segments of society…
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‘New taxes will cripple IT sector’ | The Express Tribune
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[ad_1] KARACHI: The budget for fiscal year 2024-2025 burdens the skilled salaried class with higher income taxes, which can lead to a massive brain drain, exacerbating the current situation, hindering the growth of the Information Technology (IT) sector, and potentially destroying it. The General Sales Tax (GST) on IT hardware surged from 5% to 10%,…
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US calls for stronger protection against Chinese imports | The Express Tribune
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[ad_1] WASHINGTON: A policy group led by the United Steelworkers union and domestic manufacturers is calling for the US to enact stronger trade barriers to Chinese imports after President Joe Biden imposed steep tariffs on Chinese electric vehicles, solar panels and other strategic goods. The Alliance for American Manufacturing (AAM) on Friday published a report…
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Brazil’s president rejects spending cuts | The Express Tribune
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[ad_1] BRASILIA: Brazil’s President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva said on Saturday he is open to analysing Finance Minister Fernando Haddad’s spending cut proposals but emphasised that fiscal adjustments would not be made at the expense of the poor. Speaking at a press conference on the sidelines of the Group of Seven (G7) summit in…
