Key Takeaways
- Pakistan Business Forum (PBF) calls for immediate reduction of petroleum levy by Rs60 per litre.
- PBF Chief Organiser Ahmad Jawad highlights the burden on consumers and businesses amid rising inflation.
- Forum suggests lower petroleum prices could stimulate economic activity and reduce business costs.
The Pakistan Business Forum (PBF) has called on Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif to reduce the petroleum levy by Rs60 per litre, citing the unaffordability of current prices for both consumers and businesses.
Ahmad Jawad, Chief Organiser of the PBF, stated that the prevailing prices of petroleum products have become a significant burden, with consumers currently paying Rs106.15 per litre in taxes on petrol.
The PBF noted that the price of diesel has increased by Rs135 per litre over the past eight months, while petrol prices have risen by Rs114 per litre during the same period.
Jawad emphasized that the government must provide relief to households and businesses, rather than focusing solely on revenue generation through such levies.
According to the PBF, the government collected Rs1,567 billion through the petroleum levy during the last fiscal year, a 29 per cent increase over the previous fiscal year.
The forum suggested that the government could accommodate a reduction in the petroleum levy by curtailing non-essential expenditure and adopting austerity measures.
Lower petroleum prices, according to the PBF, would ease the financial burden on consumers and reduce business costs, thereby improving competitiveness and stimulating economic activity.
The PBF also expressed serious reservations over the government’s wheat policy, particularly the decision to abolish the wheat support price.
Jawad highlighted that the previous system had been functioning reasonably well, but the country is now being forced to import wheat, another burden on the national exchequer.
He called on the government to announce the wheat support price before November to provide clarity to farmers and encourage wheat production.
You cannot put everything on the people and the business community; the government must also bear some of the burden itself.
Ahmad Jawad, PBF Chief Organiser
If tax revenue is rising but the economy is not moving forward, there must be something wrong.
Ahmad Jawad, PBF Chief Organiser
