In a surprising turn of events, Pakistan has abandoned its plan to impose a new tax on banks’ profits from government debt just days before the deadline. The proposed levy aimed to boost the economy by encouraging banks to lend more to the private sector. However, facing legal challenges and fees imposed by lenders, the government decided to backtrack on the ADR tax. Instead, it approved a plan to raise the overall income tax on banks to 44%, generating an estimated Rs60bn ($216mn) for the government (FT)
