The Ministry of Finance has revealed that mobile phone users have paid a total of Rs.338 billion in advance taxes over the past five years.
During a National Assembly session chaired by Deputy Speaker Ghulam Mustafa Shah, the details of tax collections from mobile users were presented. According to the Finance Ministry, PKR 338 billion has been collected from mobile users over the last five years.
The documents shared revealed that in 2020, PKR 50 billion was collected in advance tax, followed by PKR 55 billion in 2021. In 2022, the tax collected on phone balances was PKR 61 billion, and in 2023, it rose to PKR 80 billion. In FY 2024, PKR 92 billion was collected from mobile users as advance tax.
The Finance Ministry has forecasted exports to reach $33 billion in FY 2025, with remittances expected to rise to $33.5 billion. Officials also stated that the IT sector is expected to see a growth of $8.5 billion, with IT exports estimated to reach $4.2 billion in the current fiscal year.
Additionally, details of funds received under the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) were also shared in the assembly, revealing that Pakistan has received $25.5 billion from the Chinese government for CPEC-related projects. With China’s cooperation, 43 projects worth $24 billion have been completed, and work continues on eight projects worth $795 million.
