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    <title>Aaj TV English News - Business &amp; Economy</title>
    <link>https://english.aaj.tv/</link>
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    <language>en-Us</language>
    <copyright>Copyright 2026</copyright>
    <pubDate>Tue, 07 Apr 2026 19:33:15 +0500</pubDate>
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      <title>IMF urges Pakistan to phase out tax breaks for tech, industrial zones</title>
      <link>https://english.aaj.tv/news/330418505/imf-urges-pakistan-to-phase-out-tax-breaks-for-tech-industrial-zones</link>
      <description>&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has called on the Pakistani government to gradually phase out tax incentives currently offered to Special Technology Zones and Industrial Zones.&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;During ongoing negotiations, IMF officials stressed that Pakistan must develop a comprehensive plan to eliminate all such incentives by 2035.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;The plan must be finalized and submitted by the end of this year as part of Pakistan’s commitments under its current agreement with the IMF.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;The goal, according to the IMF, is to improve fiscal discipline and ensure greater transparency in revenue collection.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Officials from Pakistan’s Ministry of Finance confirmed that, for the first time in the country’s history, the national budget is being prepared under a staff-level agreement with the IMF.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;As a result, the government shall meet all financial targets without exception.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Finance ministry sources also revealed that the upcoming budget is unlikely to include any major development projects due to strict fiscal constraints.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;The government will instead implement austerity measures to control the budget deficit and meet IMF conditions.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Read more&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;blockquote class="blockquote-level-1"&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;a href="https://english.aaj.tv/news/330416255/imf-sets-over-11-new-reform-benchmarks-under-7b-bailout-for-pakistan"&gt;IMF sets over 11 new reform benchmarks under $7b bailout for Pakistan&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;/blockquote&gt;
&lt;blockquote class="blockquote-level-1"&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;a href="https://english.aaj.tv/news/330417701/federal-budget-2025-26-govt-mulls-relief-package-for-salaried-class"&gt;Federal budget 2025–26: Govt mulls relief package for salaried class&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;/blockquote&gt;
&lt;blockquote class="blockquote-level-1"&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;a href="https://english.aaj.tv/news/330416802/federal-budget-2025-26-relief-uncertain-as-imf-resists-pakistans-tax-proposals"&gt;Federal budget 2025–26: Relief uncertain as IMF resists Pakistan’s tax proposals&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;/blockquote&gt;
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      <content:encoded xmlns="http://purl.org/rss/1.0/modules/content/"><![CDATA[<p><strong>The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has called on the Pakistani government to gradually phase out tax incentives currently offered to Special Technology Zones and Industrial Zones.</strong></p>
<p>During ongoing negotiations, IMF officials stressed that Pakistan must develop a comprehensive plan to eliminate all such incentives by 2035.</p>
<p>The plan must be finalized and submitted by the end of this year as part of Pakistan’s commitments under its current agreement with the IMF.</p>
<p>The goal, according to the IMF, is to improve fiscal discipline and ensure greater transparency in revenue collection.</p>
<p>Officials from Pakistan’s Ministry of Finance confirmed that, for the first time in the country’s history, the national budget is being prepared under a staff-level agreement with the IMF.</p>
<p>As a result, the government shall meet all financial targets without exception.</p>
<p>Finance ministry sources also revealed that the upcoming budget is unlikely to include any major development projects due to strict fiscal constraints.</p>
<p>The government will instead implement austerity measures to control the budget deficit and meet IMF conditions.</p>
<p><strong>Read more</strong></p>
<blockquote class="blockquote-level-1">
<p><a href="https://english.aaj.tv/news/330416255/imf-sets-over-11-new-reform-benchmarks-under-7b-bailout-for-pakistan">IMF sets over 11 new reform benchmarks under $7b bailout for Pakistan</a></p>
</blockquote>
<blockquote class="blockquote-level-1">
<p><a href="https://english.aaj.tv/news/330417701/federal-budget-2025-26-govt-mulls-relief-package-for-salaried-class">Federal budget 2025–26: Govt mulls relief package for salaried class</a></p>
</blockquote>
<blockquote class="blockquote-level-1">
<p><a href="https://english.aaj.tv/news/330416802/federal-budget-2025-26-relief-uncertain-as-imf-resists-pakistans-tax-proposals">Federal budget 2025–26: Relief uncertain as IMF resists Pakistan’s tax proposals</a></p>
</blockquote>
]]></content:encoded>
      <category>Business &amp; Economy</category>
      <guid>https://english.aaj.tv/news/330418505</guid>
      <pubDate>Thu, 05 Jun 2025 11:59:19 +0500</pubDate>
      <author>none@none.com (Yasir Nazar)</author>
      <media:content url="https://i.aaj.tv/large/2025/06/05113353deb1de5.webp?r=113419" type="image/webp" medium="image" height="720" width="1200">
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        <media:title>International Monetary Fund logo is seen inside the headquarters at the end of the IMF/World Bank annual meetings in Washington, U.S., October 9, 2016. Reuters
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