ISLAMABAD: President Dr Arif Alvi says financial independence is imperative for women empowerment.
Addressing a ceremony in Islamabad on Friday, he said no society can make progress until women disparity is not removed and they are not given equal opportunities in all fields.
The President said progress of women in society without education is very difficult because if a mother is educated she could up-bring her children in a batter way.
He said religion Islam and the constitution of Pakistan negated all indiscrimination against women.
Expressing satisfaction over the contributions of banking sector for empowering people with disability and women, the President said more efforts are needed to convince them for opening their bank accounts.
He said disbursement of Ehsas cash program should also be made through bank accounts.
ALVI PROMULGATES NEW TAX LAWS CONTAINING FRESH PENALTIES FOR NON-FILERS: President Arif Alvi has promulgated new tax laws, empowering the authorities to disconnect mobile phones/SIMS, electricity and gas connections of persons who are required to file tax returns but fail to appear on the Active Taxpayer List (ATL).
The president promulgated the Tax Laws (Third Amendment) Ordinance 2021 for allowing the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) to share its data with the National Database and Registration Authority (NADRA) with the objective to broaden the tax net.
NADRA shall share its records and any information available or held by it with the Board, as per the ordinance.
The ordinance contains strict penalties for persons who do not file tax returns. A penalty of Rs 1,000/- per day of default has been included in the Ordinance.
The government has also increased the amount of penalty for tier-1 retailers who are not integrated with the FBR and imposed an additional advance tax on rates ranging from 5% to 35% on professionals using domestic electricity connections.
The Ordinance identifies professionals as accountants, lawyers, doctors, dentists, health professionals, engineers, architects, IT professionals, tutors, trainers, and other persons engaged in the provision of services.
The government has granted sales tax zero-rating to fat-filled milk including those sold in retail packing under a brand name or a trademark.
Under the Ordinance, the reduced rate of 16% sales tax would be applicable on supplies made by POS integrated outlets where payment is made through the digital mode; reduced rate of 14%on meltable scrap imported by steel melters; a reduced rate of 5% on import of electric vehicles on Completely Built Up (CBU) condition and reduced rate of 16.9% sales tax on business-to-business transactions, where payment is made through the digital mode.
Moreover, the government has excluded steel and edible oil sectors from the charge of further tax.
Through the new Ordinance, the FBR has given legal cover to foreign remittances received through foreign currency accounts of Overseas Money Service Bureaus (MSB), Exchange Companies (ECs), and Money Transfer Operators (MTOs) for granting income tax exemption under Section 111(4) of the Income Tax Ordinance, 2001.
The Tax Laws (Third) Amendment Ordinance 2021 has provided the right of appeal to importers against valuation ruling with the FBR Member Customs Policy.
PRESIDENT ALVI UNVEILS SBP’S BANKING ON EQUALITY POLICY: The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) has launched a gender mainstreaming policy titled “Banking on Equality: Reducing the Gender Gap in Financial Inclusion”, which aims at reducing the gender gap in financial inclusion and improving women’s access to financial services.
President Dr Arif Alvi unveiled the policy in an event held at the Aiwan-e-Sadr.
In his remarks, the president said the government of Pakistan recognises women’s financial inclusion as a key driver for achieving sustainable and inclusive economic growth of the country.
President Alvi said that it is the government’s declared policy to promote women‘s inclusion by providing equitable opportunities for access to financial services to all segments of the population and the SBP’s BoE Policy will be instrumental for achieving this goal.
He applauded the central bank’s efforts and expressed the hope that the Banking on Equality Policy would help mainstream women’s financial inclusion agenda as part of the financial institutions strategic priorities through binding targets.
In line with the ethos of our founder, the government’s flagship Ehsaas programme initiative incorporates Prime Minister Imran Khan’s vision of “One woman, One Bank Account Policy” to empower women through financial inclusion, he said.
In his address of welcome, SBP Governor Dr Reza Baqir said that reducing gender gap in financial inclusion has remained a priority for the central bank as mainstreaming the role of women has widespread benefits at social, economic and financial levels for the entire country.
