Pakistan to reduce property tax following IMF nod

Pakistan has deiced to cut withholding tax on property purchases by 2% from next month following an approval from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in this regard.

According to media reports, the IMF has approved the Federal Board of Revenue’s (FBR) request for a partial reduction in property tax. The tax cut relief will be only for buyers while the tax rate for sellers will remain unchanged.

The decision is part of ongoing discussions between Pakistan and the IMF to finalize a staff-level agreement. The government is also working to secure additional financial support through a Climate Resilience Fund, with further developments expected soon.

It should be noted the IMF has also allowed the Pakistani government to raise PKR 1,257 billion from local banks to address the circular debt issue in the energy sector. Despite international commitments of $10 billion, Pakistan has only received one-third of the pledged amount.

It is worth mentioning here that the real estate market in Pakistan has been passing through a recession for the last 10 years.