This is the era of mobile phones and telecom devices, which are now necessities. Unfortunately, these necessities are also subjected to heavy taxes in the government’s mini-budget, making access to these devices nearly impossible for the average person. Also, for those considering purchasing a new iPhone 13, the Tax to Register your iPhone 13 has been raised to 85,000 from 46,500 previously.
In the case of other devices, the tax is raised to nearly double in various price ranges.
| Sr no | Price Bracket | New Tax | Old Tax |
| 1 | 100-200 USD | PKR 25,000 | 11,500 |
| 2 | 200-350 USD | PKR 49000 | 16,500 |
| 3 | 350-500 USD | PKR 68500 | 28,800 |
| 4 | Above 500 USD | PKR 85500 | 46,500 |
The government raised a total of Rs 350 billion through new taxes in the mini-budget. Because the telecommunications sector accounts for one-tenth of these revenue receipts. Because mobile phones are used by 98 percent of Pakistan’s 147 million people, the majority of consumers will be subject to these ever-increasing taxes.
These taxes will not only affect people with low incomes, but those who want to buy an iPhone 13 will have to pay a large amount of 85500, which is excessive.
However, apart from that, the tax on mobile phone recharges has been increased The federal government has decided to levy a 15% withholding tax on all prepaid phone recharges.
