Personal income tax slabs on the cards: FBR

The government is reviewing the new slabs announced for personal income tax (PIT) to bring them in line with the demands of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the chairman of the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR), Asim Ahmad, said.

Ahmad saw it as quite the predicament given the narrow tax base which makes it difficult to raise the rate from 35% to 70% for higher income slabs.

Most of the taxpayers were excluded from initial slabs and the government wanted to protect the monthly income earner of Rs200,000.

“It is a difficult situation and different options are under consideration for jacking up rates of income slabs beyond income earner of Rs200,000 per month as this step could reduce the relief from the existing Rs47 billion proposed through the budget,” the FBR chairman FBR said, while talking to reporters outside the Senate Standing Committee on Finance meeting at the Parliament House where a meeting to finalise recommendations for budget 2022-23 was held.

The government is considering keeping low rates for slabs up to income earners of Rs5 million after which all the remaining slabs will be adjusted upwards to recover the existing relief of Rs47 billion on Personal Income Tax and then ensure net collection up to level acceptable to the IMF.

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Pakistan envoy discusses bilateral ties with Joe Biden

Ambassador Masood Khan, Islamabad’s ambassador in Washington, has met US President Joe Biden on his visit to the White House where the two discussed building a "strong basis for moving Pakistan-US ties forward".

According to a press release issued by the Pakistan Embassy in the US, Khan visited the White House for a "meet and greet" and an official photograph with the US president — an established tradition for newly appointed envoys.

"During the ceremony, the US President and the ambassador had a brief conversation on building a strong basis for moving the US-Pakistan ties forward," the statement said.

The US government follows a tradition whereby after the appointment of new ambassadors to Washington, a ceremony is held at the White House where new envoys present their credentials to the head of state conforming to their appointment.

Khan was sent to Washington on March 25, when the PTI government was still in power, but after former prime minister Imran Khan’s ouster on April 11, there was speculation that the change in Islamabad would also impact diplomatic appointments.

Later, Pakistan’s envoy to the United Nations, Ambassador Munir Akram, explained that incumbent ambassadors continue to represent the country in foreign capitals unless specifically asked by the new government to return home. Neither Ambassador Khan nor Ambassador Akram was asked to do so.

On his arrival in Washington earlier this week, Khan received a letter from the chief of protocol at the US State Department, endorsing his appointment as Pakistan’s ‘working ambassador’ in Washington.

Later, on April 19, he also received a letter from the US president’s office, formally confirming his appointment.

Meanwhile, the statement issued today said that forty-six other ambassadors were also present there for the official photograph with the President, which was taken one by one. "They too had not been able to call on the President for more than a year because of the Covid-19 restrictions," it added.

Since President Biden’s age, 79, makes him particularly vulnerable to the virus, the White House tried to minimise the president’s contact with others. Diplomatic sources in Washington earlier told Dawn that Covid-19 had also hit the credentials ceremony.

Now, the White House processed all the documents and issues the necessary letters first and then invited an ambassador for the photo session.

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Personal income tax slabs on the cards: FBR

The government is reviewing the new slabs announced for personal income tax (PIT) to bring them in line with the demands of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the chairman of the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR), Asim Ahmad, said.

Ahmad saw it as quite the predicament given the narrow tax base which makes it difficult to raise the rate from 35% to 70% for higher income slabs.

Most of the taxpayers were excluded from initial slabs and the government wanted to protect the monthly income earner of Rs200,000.

“It is a difficult situation and different options are under consideration for jacking up rates of income slabs beyond income earner of Rs200,000 per month as this step could reduce the relief from the existing Rs47 billion proposed through the budget,” the FBR chairman FBR said, while talking to reporters outside the Senate Standing Committee on Finance meeting at the Parliament House where a meeting to finalise recommendations for budget 2022-23 was held.

The government is considering keeping low rates for slabs up to income earners of Rs5 million after which all the remaining slabs will be adjusted upwards to recover the existing relief of Rs47 billion on Personal Income Tax and then ensure net collection up to level acceptable to the IMF.

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Protests against prophet remarks continue in India

Thousands of Muslims marched in the eastern Indian city of Kolkata on Tuesday in a second week of protests, while six prominent former judges said a state government had acted illegally by demolishing the house of a Muslim activist.

Muslims have taken to the streets across India to protest against anti-Islamic comments made by two members of the Bharatiya Janata Party.Uttar Pradesh CM Yogi Adityanath, a BJP hardliner, ordered the weekend demolition of any illegal buildings of people accused of involvement in riots last week, including the home of activist Mohammad Javed.

In a letter addressed to the chief justice, six former judges and six senior lawyers on Tuesday condemned the state’s action in destroying Javed’s house.

The former judges and lawyers urged the Supreme Court to take action to “arrest the deteriorating law and order situation” in Uttar Pradesh.

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Thinking digital twin within a decade?

With sophisticated 3D computer models, AI and other sensors that will connect physical things to the network, a digital twin version of a human is possible, with a goal to help and improve the real counterpart.

Technology analyst, Rob Enderle, believes that “the first versions of thinking human digital twins” will be ready before the end of the decade.

He says, "The emergence of these will need a huge amount of thought and ethical consideration, because a thinking replica of ourselves could be incredibly useful to employers”.

Enderle thinks that the ownership of digital twins will become the defining questions of the metaverse era. Human twins, though primitive, have already been developed with VR avatars.

Senior research fellow in AI at Oxford University, Professor Sandra Wachter thinks that the appeal of digital twins is “reminiscent of exciting science fiction novels, and at the moment that is the stage where it is at".

However, Wachter believes that AI is not a good predictor of “single social events, due to their inherent complexity. And so, we have a long ways to go until we can understand and model a person's life from beginning to end, assuming that is ever possible."

Digital twin technology is being used widely to replicate cities like Singapore and Shanghai for better infrastructure suggestions, designing sustainable bottles, Formula One racing cars and even in creating virtual model of the human heart for testing and analysis.

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Dollar continues to extend gains, glides past Rs206

In line with expectations, the rupee has plunged further and crossed Rs206 against the US dollar for the first time in the inter-bank market on Wednesday.

The domestic currency was available at Rs206.09 against the greenback, losing a fresh Rs0.93, a currency market dealer reported at 9.45 am.

This is the fourth consecutive working day of free-fall in the rupee, losing a cumulative 2.65% (or Rs5.32) to date.

The central bank has seemed helpless in controlling the speculative fall in the rupee as the domestic fair value is projected at Rs190 against the greenback by BMA Capital Executive Director Saad Hashemy.

On Monday, Finance Minister Miftah Ismail said abolishing the subsidies on petroleum products till July was imperative to prevent the country from going bankrupt, hinting at another increase in the prices of fuel that whizzed past records earlier this month.

Ministry of Finance’s former adviser Dr Khaqan Najeeb said: “Markets are uncomfortable due to the uncertainty about the IMF loan programme.”

The country should have initiated the process of reviving the stalled loan programme a few months earlier," he added.

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Pakistan envoy discusses bilateral ties with Joe Biden

Ambassador Masood Khan, Islamabad’s ambassador in Washington, has met US President Joe Biden on his visit to the White House where the two discussed building a "strong basis for moving Pakistan-US ties forward".

According to a press release issued by the Pakistan Embassy in the US, Khan visited the White House for a "meet and greet" and an official photograph with the US president — an established tradition for newly appointed envoys.

"During the ceremony, the US President and the ambassador had a brief conversation on building a strong basis for moving the US-Pakistan ties forward," the statement said.

The US government follows a tradition whereby after the appointment of new ambassadors to Washington, a ceremony is held at the White House where new envoys present their credentials to the head of state conforming to their appointment.

Khan was sent to Washington on March 25, when the PTI government was still in power, but after former prime minister Imran Khan’s ouster on April 11, there was speculation that the change in Islamabad would also impact diplomatic appointments.

Later, Pakistan’s envoy to the United Nations, Ambassador Munir Akram, explained that incumbent ambassadors continue to represent the country in foreign capitals unless specifically asked by the new government to return home. Neither Ambassador Khan nor Ambassador Akram was asked to do so.

On his arrival in Washington earlier this week, Khan received a letter from the chief of protocol at the US State Department, endorsing his appointment as Pakistan’s ‘working ambassador’ in Washington.

Later, on April 19, he also received a letter from the US president’s office, formally confirming his appointment.

Meanwhile, the statement issued today said that forty-six other ambassadors were also present there for the official photograph with the President, which was taken one by one. "They too had not been able to call on the President for more than a year because of the Covid-19 restrictions," it added.

Since President Biden’s age, 79, makes him particularly vulnerable to the virus, the White House tried to minimise the president’s contact with others. Diplomatic sources in Washington earlier told Dawn that Covid-19 had also hit the credentials ceremony.

Now, the White House processed all the documents and issues the necessary letters first and then invited an ambassador for the photo session.

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