Pakistan Increases Sales Tax Rate, Introduces New Tax Deduction Rules for Share Acquisitions, and Reintroduces Advance Tax on Functions and Gatherings

Pakistan's Federal Board of Revenue has published the Finance (Supplementary) Act 2023, which received the assent of the President (was enacted) on 23 February 2023. The main measures of the Act include the following, which generally apply with immediate effect:

• The general sales tax rate is increased from 17% to 18%;
• New rules are added in Section 37 (Capital Gains) of the Income Tax Ordinance (ITO) regarding the taxation of share acquisitions, which provide that a person acquiring shares …