A Brief Overview of Imran Khan Offering Incentives to Construction Sector

The current government has, by far, faced the maximum number of challenges and now is faced with the novel coronavirus pandemic. This is a situation that the previous governments had seldom faced in the past century. No government of Pakistan had ever come across these escalating crises. The virus is deteriorating everything known to man, from taking countless lives to shutting down the entire world’s economy. Where IMF officially declared that the world economy is moving towards recession, a third world country like Pakistan strives to battle the survival of the best.

The Prime Minister, Imran Khan, and his team have been endlessly working on updating the nation almost every day and are endlessly working to mitigate the crises stricken situation. Taking difficult decisions is now a part of the fiscal policies. Where the majority of the citizens are daily wage workers, a curfew would only be the harbinger of disaster and starvation.

Incentives Offer

In this situation where the household or the general public’s demand for labor from the construction sector has drastically fallen, the Prime Minister – Imran Khan has announced incentivized packages to boost the employment opportunities on 3rd April 2020, in Islamabad. These packages involve waving off of 90% of tax if the investors invest through the ‘Naya Pakistan Housing Authority,’ introducing the fixed tax, and they will only be bound to pay 10% of fees. As well as the sources of this income will not be inquired.

Moreover, a Construction Industry Development Board is also being set up to promote the construction industry as well as to fund the ‘Naya Pakistan Housing Project.’ A subsidy of thirty billion rupees has also been allotted. Through these activities, there shall be a positive response and a supposed force to face the COVID-19 pandemic.

The prime minister has said that not only will the sales taxes be reduced, but also the withholding tax on all sectors shall be lifted; steel and cement excluded. Finally, no capital gains tax for a household of the general public that sells their house.

Lockdown Consequences

The Prime Minister emphasis the fact a lockdown can only be valid once the general public follows it religiously. The impact of a lockdown shall only be clear once a complete lockdown. Similar to a curfew- has been placed, and people strictly remain indoors, which is not practical for a country like Pakistan as Pakistan not only faces the fear of death through the spread of COVID-19 but also due to poverty and starvation. Our main challenge is not the coronavirus, but also unemployment, lack of necessities, lack of knowledge of hygiene, and lastly, lack of intellect to follow basic instructions that are given by the government.

The Prime Minister – through the statistical reports – has assured that the response of Pakistani citizens is different from that in the west. Where COVID-19 is brutally taken over lives in the west, Pakistani citizen’s immune system is proving to be more durable, and our battles seem to be opposites. While social distancing is a vital factor that is being imposed at a given time slot, we are also battling with a crumbling economic situation, which is trying to be handled by smart and futuristic fiscal policies.

Author: Alina Nasir