LAHORE - PTI leader and energy minister Hammad Azhar on Friday lambasted the coalition government’s decision to impose 10 percent super tax on large-scale industries. Taking to Twitter, he said, “Super tax will end up further squeezing the formal sector of the economy. This means taxing the already taxed even more.” He went on to say that the country’s economy was plunging and such measures at this time will reverse the “industrialisation momentum that PTI generated”. He added: “Industry is already facing crippling costs due to rising prices of commodities and energy. This super tax will be priced in their balance sheets and passed on to the customers in many cases and this means even higher prices for the public.”
Earlier, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif announced a super-tax of 10 percent on large-scale manufacturers and industries in the country in order to address the economic woes. The premier said that industries related to steel, cement, sugar, oil and gas, fertilizers, energy and terminal, and textile will face a 10 percent tax. In addition, he said that the super tax will also be imposed on the banking and cigarette sectors. “Teams will be formed to collect tax after the passage of the budget bill. Tax will be levied for a short period of time.”