Punjab government is imposing Rs. 1-3 gasoline tax per Liters of petrol in Lahore. As recently the federal Govt has also raised the fuel prices 2.7 rupees per Liters due to hike in crude oil price.
The government will extend this tax to Rawalpindi and Multan in the coming months. Punjab Govt decided to impose this tax to curb the subsidies of the Metro Bus and orange train. This decision came for those cities,where these public transportation services are available.
The Punjab Government is giving Rs. 12 billion monthly grants to the operators of Orange Train and Metro Bus projects. It appears that the government is struggling to pay this amount. That is why the Punjab Mass Transit Authority has proposed to introduce a gasoline tax for the residents of these three cities.
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The Punjab government starts with the city of Lahore. According to government calculations, the gasoline tax yields more than Rs. 1.5 billion Annual sales.
This will relieve the Punjab government from subsidizing public transportation in Lahore. GM operations of the Punjab Mass Authority (PMA) say the government will impose a gasoline tax to encourage public transportation to many developed countries around the world.
Lahore residents are extremely disappointed with this new tax rule. You are not willing to bear the additional burden of this tax. It is understandable that the government is going through a difficult period.
However, it is unreasonable to make it public. But that is exactly what most of the world’s governments are doing. Because ultimately public money is invested in the public interest
