KARACHI: Pakistani rupee staggered against the US dollar in the interbank market at the start of the new week and depreciated by 9 paisas on Monday. According to details, the rupee opened at 278.21 against the greenback in the interbank market and closed at 278.30, going down by 0.03 percent. The rupee gained 19 paisas against the US dollar on Friday last, while it shed nine paisas last week. The local unit closed at 278.21, against 278.12 it had closed the week earlier against the greenback. The government has proposed to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to increase income tax exemption threshold up to Rs1 million for salaried class, according to media reports. There is a proposal to rationalize the tax rates for individuals by removing the salaried/ non-salaried distinction and reducing the number of rate slabs. Meanwhile, rupee’s Real Effective Exchange Rate Index (REER) increased by 0.4 percent on a month-on-month basis in April 2024 to a provisional value of 104.51 from the revised value of 104.09 in March 2024. According to data published by the SBP, the REER index has increased by 22.14 percent on a year-on-year basis as compared to April 2023. TLTP
