While Pakistanis are reeling from backbreaking inflation, another shock is in store for them. The government has levied the withholding tax on wheat products in the federal budget for fiscal 2024-25, which is likely to raise the flour price by Rs5 to Rs7 per kg.
The Pakistan Flour Mills Association (PFMA) has called an emergency meeting in Lahore on Saturday to deliberate the situation. Flour millers have warned the government to reconsider the imposition of withholding tax; otherwise they would take drastic measures, including strikes and shutdown of flour mills across the country.
While speaking to The Express Tribune, PFMA Chairman Chaudhry Amir Abdullah said that both regular and fine flour could see a price increase of Rs7 per kg due to the withholding tax. He further stated that the cost of a 10kg flour bag is expected to rise by Rs106, while the price hike for a sack of flour could reach Rs460.
Abdullah criticised the taxation policy, saying that only 2% of Pakistan's population pays direct taxes, while indirect taxes such as sales tax heavily burden the remaining 98%, who are often economically disadvantaged. "These tax measures on essential commodities will adversely affect the public, particularly low-income households," he added.
Abdullah also stated that flour mills are not responsible for tax collection nor are they subsidiaries of the government or the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR).
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