The problems being faced by the PTI government is multiplying with each passing day as the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has now called for the withdrawal of amnesty scheme announced for land developers and builders.

According to 24NewsHD TV channel which quoted sources, the IMF says the loan agreement stipulated that Pakistan could not go for the amnesty scheme, as it also objected to the move allowing the beneficiaries not to reveal their sources of income.

The PTI government has given this amnesty scheme to the construction industry because of the coronavirus pandemic. It has amended the Income Tax Ordinance 2001 to impose a fixed tax on the basis of a square yard.

Moreover, there is no withholding tax on all materials except cement and steel. The government has also introduced a fixe tax regime for land developers and builders.

It doesn’t stop there as the sales tax laws have been modified which means that the advance tax on auctioning of properties is now reduced to 5 percent against the previous level of 10 percent.

On the other hand, the fixed tax regime also means that the land developers and builders are exempted from income tax, capital gain tax, services tax and capital value tax.

Interestingly, this attractive amnesty scheme for the construction sector was followed by a budget in which the subsidy for power and gas consumers has been reduced, while there is no pay raise for the government employees. The government has not even determined the minimum wage for the workers around the country.