ISLAMABAD, Feb 5: The PPP government is reported to be considering to drop the idea of presenting the tax amnesty bill during the current session of the National Assembly because of refusal by its two coalition partners to support it.

The assembly will remain in session till Feb 8.

Earlier, the government had indicated that the amnesty law would be in force by February.

On Jan 4, the Senate adopted the bill amid criticism from the PML-N and other opposition parties.

The MQM and PML-Q have conveyed to the government their decision to oppose the legislation.

Senator Nasreen Jalil told Dawn that the MQM had opposed the bill in the Senate and nothing “has since changed in the tax regime to review our policy”.

The MQM wants the government to tax agricultural income.

PML-Q spokesman Senator Kamil Ali Agha told Dawn that his party had voted against the bill in the Senate and would oppose it also in the National Assembly because of its selective approach.

But ANP spokesman Senator Zahid Khan said his party would support the bill because the government had accepted its recommendations.

The government needs a simple majority to get the bill approved by the National Assembly.

The bill was introduced in the lower house of parliament on Dec 17 last year.

Earlier in 2010, the Senate had approved a bill on reformed general sales tax, but it was put on hold on pressure from certain lobbies. The passage of the sales tax bill is one of the conditions for resumption of the $11.3 billion IMF bailout package.