In what Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb on Friday called an “important milestone”, the government announced a fixed tax rate scheme for small shop owners in an effort to build a more “equitable, balanced and sustainable” tax system. The voluntary ‘Asaan Scheme’ aimed at small shops with annual earnings of Rs200 million, seeks to broaden the tax net by imposing a 1 per cent fixed tax on net income of the business. Shop owners will have to sign up for the scheme via a form available in multiple local languages. The announcement was made during a press conference by the finance minister along with State Minister for Finance Bilal Azhar Kiani. According to Kiani, shop owners who opt in for the scheme will receive Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) plaques displaying a unique QR code on them to be placed outside their shops and a point of sale system inside their shops. Tax inspectors making the rounds of the market will be able to acquire tax details for these shops using their QR code...
Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi on Friday reaffirmed Pakistan’s commitment to the “Shanghai spirit” and called for a joint strategy among SCO member states to counter terrorism, organised crime, drug trafficking, cybercrime and terror financing. Naqvi said this at a special meeting of the Ministers of Interior and Public Security of Shanghai Cooperation Organisation in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan. He said the region faced “serious and complex security challenges” that were interconnected, noting that criminal and terrorist networks were rapidly adapting to technological advancements, exploiting artificial intelligence, digital platforms, online networks and cryptocurrency transactions to expand their activities. The interior minister emphasised the importance of modernising institutional coordination and enhancing intelligence-sharing mechanisms across the region to tackle these threats. Shared threats demanded shared solutions, Naqvi told the delegates, further calling for a comprehensive ...