In the previous fiscal year, Pakistan brought in almost Rs7,000 billion in tax revenue, according to official figures released in LAHORE. However, the government is now asking for an additional Rs2,200 billion from just petrol and power tariffs.
This shocking information was shared on Saturday by PTI economics spokesman Muzamil Aslam in a video message addressing the country’s unparalleled inflation.
Aslam emphasised that the government used to rake in almost Rs3,000 billion annually from electricity-related levies. But after recent rate changes, this number is expected to balloon to between Rs4,200 and Rs4,300 billion.
Amid the worst inflation in the country’s history, he said, the government’s attempt to recover Rs180 billion per month from the public is an enormous burden.
Mini-budgets of Rs200 billion to Rs300 billion put a significant burden on the taxpayers, he said. Despite the current economic scenario, the outgoing PML-N led administration imposed an additional cost on the taxpayers amounting to Rs2,200 billion.
In response to allegations of electricity theft in Balochistan, Quetta, and Peshawar, Aslam pointed out that these cities actually had a shortage of power to begin with.
He disproved the widespread belief that Balochistan uses the least amount of electricity by noting that, after Sindh and Punjab, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa has the third-lowest supply.
When asked about the problem of electricity theft, Aslam said that while 30% of electricity was purportedly taken in various provinces, the biggest level of theft came from Punjab at 10%, driving up electricity prices for everyone.
Aslam, ever the financial expert, delved deep into the details, revealing that a significant portion of this year’s Rs4,200 billion earned from higher electricity prices was earmarked for power plant leases.
Fuel expenditures only account for about Rs800–Rs900 billion, with the rest going to taxes.
In addition, Rs400 billion is budgeted annually for coal import rents and Rs184 billion is allocated for LNG plant rents.
Although the wind facility is a cost-effective choice, it still comes with an annual cost of Rs175 billion.
Aslam criticised the arrangement in which the country pays Rs28 per unit as rent to the LNG facility regardless of the electricity supply.
