Asad Umar responds to brother Zubair’s tweet on POL taxes

KARACHI: Minister for Finance Asad Umar on Saturday responded to his brother and former Sindh Governor Mohammad Zubair on his tweet demanding cut in taxes on petroleum products.

‏"I am sure one of his 1st acts would be [to] cut down the taxes on petrol that he had been demanding while in opposition," Zubair had said on August 07 with a screenshot of finance minister's February 2016 tweet.

Replying to the PML-N leader, Asad Umar tweeted: “Incidence of tax on petrol in the prices effective today is 23.6%, less than half the tax rate of 52% which I had criticized. PML-N govt had Rs.300 billion as petrol levy in budget for this year. Wait for my strategy to be presented to parliament and you will see the difference”.

Zubair, who was a key member of PML-N’s economic team before being appointed as Sindh Governor, has been very vocal in criticizing Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf’s policies.

The government on Friday reduced the petroleum products’ prices which would be effective from today and remain in force till Sept 30 midnight.

Diesel has shed Rs6.37 per litre, petrol Rs2.41 per litre and kerosene Rs0.46 per litre, while Light Diesel Oil (LDO) price has been hiked by Rs0.59 a litre. The reduction has been made on the recommendation of Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority (Ogra).

In percentage terms, the diesel price has been reduced by 5.6pc, petrol 2.5 percent and kerosene 0.55 percent, while the LDO price has increased by 0.78 percent. With the reduction, diesel which is widely used in transport and agriculture sector, will now sell at Rs106.57 per liter from Rs112.94, petrol from Rs95.24 per liter to Rs92.83 per liter, and kerosene from Rs83.96 to Rs83.50 per liter.

Kerosene is used for cooking purpose, especially in remote areas where LPG or pipeline gas is not available. However, the LDO price has been increased from Rs75.37 to Rs75.96/liter. This fuel is mainly used for industrial purposes.