Finance Minister Ishaq Dar on Thursday clarified the decision to deduct 35% taxes from the salaries of those earning Rs6 million annually by claiming that only 4200 people will be affected by this decision.
Dar said this minority group was nevertheless creating a lot of negative hype over this decision on Twitter. He had earlier said that people should support him in his attempt to tax the rich rather than creating hurdles.
The Rs3.4 trillion budget for the country was announced Wednesday evening.
“How could these 4200 persons play with fate of 180 million people. If they have been blessed with wealth, they should pay the taxes happily,” the minister retorted to the complaints that surfaced on Twitter.
Referring to imposing taxes on Hajj pilgirms, he made it clear that the tax was imposed on tour operators and not on pilgrims.
“The budget deficit will be taken to 04 percent by 2016,” he further said.