\u2018Economy stimulation\u2019
\nImran says govt has to strike a balance between lockdown, feeding poor people
\nour correspondent
\nISLAMABAD
\nIn order to strike a balance between the \u201clockdown and regulation of economic activity\u201d, Prime Minister Imran Khan on Friday announced a relief package for the construction sector that provides tax exemptions to the sector.
\nSpeaking to reporters after a meeting of the National Command Centre, the PM said the government provided these exemptions to provide employment to the labourers so that they can be saved from \u201chunger and the coming difficult circumstances\u201d.
\nIn line with the relief package, the government will not ask construction entities about their source of income for this year as well as approval of a fixed tax regime for the sector.
\nThe PM said: \u201cThis [move] will bring down the amount of tax to be paid. Also, if the investment is for the Naya Pakistan Housing Scheme, we will exempt 90% of the tax on it.\u201d
\nHe announced an Rs30bn subsidy for the Naya Pakistan Housing Scheme, saying that on the one hand, it will regulate economic activity and on the other, ensure houses for the poor were also built.
\nHe said that withholding tax on materials and services had been abolished in the informal sector. \u201cTax will be collected only on steel and cement, mainly because these are the formal sectors,\u201d he said.
\nPM Imran said that the government will not collect any capital gains tax from \u201cany family that wants to sell its house\u201d.
\nThe prime minister said that the government ensuring that the construction sector was given the industry status and announced the formation of The Construction Industry Development Board. \u201cAn institution will be formed, for the first time, to promote the construction industry in Pakistan,\u201d he said.
\nThe premier said that the government will focus on other sectors to gauge whether they can be provided relief.
\nHe spoke about the Coronavirus Relief Fund, saying that the government had started it solely for the benefit of the poor in Pakistan. \u201cWe will start giving out cheques in the next three to four days,\u201d he said, adding that four million people have registered for the funds.
\n\u2018Unprecedented times\u2019
\nHe said the coronavirus pandemic was an unprecedented crisis and every nation was trying to contain this in its own way, citing the example of the US.
\nHe said the case of Pakistan was different as in addition to dealing with the pandemic, the country also has to take care of its population that lives below the poverty line and the daily-wagers.
\n\u201cA lockdown imposed only in Defence or Gulberg will not be successful. The success of a lockdown will depend on whether the poor will get food at their houses or not.\u201d
\nHe cited China\u2019s example, saying that authorities had locked down Wuhan but that measure had been successful as the government had provided food to people at their doorsteps.
\nSpeaking about the difference between the state and provinces in tackling the coronavirus pandemic, PM Imran said that he didn\u2019t want to force provinces to do anything after the 18th Amendment had been passed.
\nImran said that it wasn\u2019t possible for anyone to predict whether the coronavirus will take a turn for the good or the worse. \u201cWe, as a nation, will fight [this disease] but no one can say what will happen in the next two to three weeks,\u201d he said.
\nIn response to a question about the need to unify the nation, the prime minister said that Pakistanis stood together whenever they were faced with a calamity. \u201cI only have reservations against people who use calamities to hide their corruption. This will not happen,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
\u2018Economy stimulation\u2019 Imran says govt has to strike a balance between lockdown, feeding poor people our correspondent ISLAMABAD In order to strike a balance between the \u201clockdown and regulation of economic activity\u201d, Prime Minister Imran Khan on Friday announced a relief package for the construction sector that provides tax exemptions to the sector. Speaking to […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":115608,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-115595","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-top-news"},"yoast_head":"\n