LAHORE: Finance Minister Ishaq Dar has said that the Rs40 billion taxes imposed or added to the annual budget for the financial year 2015-16 will be spent on rehabilitation of internally displaced persons and various other purposes.

“We have added taxes of Rs40bn to the 2015-16 tax receipt target keeping in view finalising important matters (related to the Zarb-i-Azb operation),” he said while talking to journalists after inaugurating the annual Urs of Hazrat Data Ganj Bakhsh (RA) here on Tuesday.

Know more: Rs40bn new taxes in ‘mini-budget’

He said the government had imposed or enhanced ratio of taxes on imported and luxury items being used by the rich. “We have not imposed taxes on industry, agriculture and all sorts of locally-manufactured/prepared items. We have only raised the tax ratio from 5 to 10 per cent on various imported items such as cosmetics, chocolate, ghee/oil, new vehicles of over 1000cc,” he said, claiming that it would not affect the common man.

Mr Dar said the government wouldn’t allow local sellers/manufacturers to increase prices using the mini-budget as a pretext.

He said a meeting of the Central Price Control Monitoring Committee was held in Islamabad on Tuesday. Members of the committee, including representatives of provincial governments, have been asked to act against elements involved in price hike, he added.

The minister also said that the Zarb-i-Azb operation would be completed soon.

“You know well that the 2015 is the year of finalising the Zarb-i-Azb operation and rehabilitation of IDPs,” he said.

Published in Dawn, December 2nd, 2015