Karachi residents are feeling the pinch as the city government rolls out new taxes targeting both vehicle owners and electricity consumers. The Karachi City Council recently approved several resolutions to impose a toll tax on vehicles and a municipal tax to collected via K-Electric bills. These measures, met with significant opposition and controversy, aim to boost city revenues for development projects.
In a decision impacting all vehicle owners, the city council has decided to impose a toll tax on vehicles using Karachi’s highways and bridges. While the exact mechanism for toll collection still under discussion, the toll expected to generate substantial revenue. Mayor Murtaza Wahab estimates that the toll tax will bring in around 700 million rupees annually.
Another contentious move is the imposition of a municipal tax through electricity bills. The council approved this measure despite strong opposition. Under the new system, households consuming between 101 and 200 units of electricity will see an additional monthly charge of 20 rupees, while those consuming up to 300 units will charged 160 rupees monthly. This tax expected to collect over 4 billion rupees annually, with about 3 billion allocated for development projects and the remainder for municipal operations.
The opposition has fiercely criticized these new taxes. Saifuddin Advocate, the opposition leader, compared the role of K-Electric to that of a “milkman” in collecting municipal tax, and called the toll tax a “daylight robbery” on the public’s finances. The Jamaat-e-Islami party has threatened legal action against the municipal tax collection through K-Electric bills.
In a heated city council meeting, where six resolutions passed, members voiced loud objections against K-Electric, causing the session to adjourned indefinitely. The Sindh High Court has temporarily halted the tax collection, pending further review. The court has previously acknowledged the city council’s authority to impose taxes, contingent on proper approval and verification of the resolutions.
The city’s leadership argues that these taxes are necessary for Karachi’s development and infrastructure improvement, but with mounting public dissent, the debate over these new levies is far from over.
