Tax evasion by illegal cigarette traders drains Rs240 billion yearly from FBR

Morning! Last week, India experienced its deadliest train crash in over 20 years. Three trains were involved in the collision in Odisha state, resulting in over 280 fatalities and around 1,000 injuries. A large-scale recovery operation is underway as emergency workers search through the wreckage.

The story is developing…

In this week’s edition:

💧 US’s drinking (water) problem

🚬 Losing Rs.240b every 365 days

🤖 All about AI

📡 3G, 4G, ..

- The Itla Squad 💼

Business

Global 🌎️

Forever chemicals, forever problems..

Top US chemical firms - Chemours, DuPont, and Corteva - have reached an agreement in principle to settle claims that they contaminated U.S. public water systems with PFAS for $1.19 billion.

⚖️ Legal: The settlement creates a fund to eliminate PFAS from public water systems, specifically addressing claims by water providers and excluding personal injury and government-owned water system claims. Additionally, 3M, a PFAS manufacturer, reportedly reached a separate agreement of over $10 billion to settle related claims with American cities and towns.

💲 Finance: Manufacturers are announcing plans to reduce or discontinue PFAS production. 3M, for example, plans to end production by 2025. However, the financial risk associated with PFAS litigation poses challenges for companies like 3M, with estimates of liability ranging from $20 billion to $25 billion.

🗳️ Politics coming in 3 2 1.. The impact of PFAS extends beyond legal and financial implications, with political and national security interests at stake. The Biden administration has allocated funds to address PFAS contamination, and the EPA is considering designating PFAS compounds as hazardous chemicals. The 2024 presidential election could also influence PFAS regulation.

TLDR: US chemical firms will pay $1.19 billion to settle PFAS contamination claims in public water systems. The settlement funds PFAS removal from water systems, excluding personal injury claims. 3M also reached a $10 billion settlement with US cities and towns. Future regulation may be influenced by politics and the EPA's potential designation of PFAS as hazardous chemicals.

What else is new in news

✶ According to new data, over 9 million American adults are skipping their prescribed medications due to high costs. This concerning trend particularly affects the uninsured and disabled individuals, who are forced to cut corners when it comes to their health.

Local 🇵🇰

How to lose out on Rs.240b in 1 year

If your friends are still giving you free suttas in these economic times, they've probably got some not-so-legal cigarettes.

A report by Ipsos revealed that tax evasion by illicit cigarette traders in Pakistan is burning a hole in the nation's pocket, costing a staggering Rs240 billion annually.

Checking the scene: Ipsos surveyed 1,000 shops in 10 districts, including Karachi, Lahore, Rawalpindi, Multan, and Faisalabad with the goal to see what kind of tax-evaded and smuggled cigarette brands were available and at what prices. The report could be in response to a massive increase in federal excise duty rates by the government to generate additional revenue for the IMF conditions.

Survey findings:

🥧 Who are the players eating the cigarette pie? Legal cigarette brands capture 52% of the market, with Pakistan Tobacco Company at 40% and Philip Morris International at 12%. Illegal brands dominate 48% of the market, split between tax-evaded local brands (38%) and smuggled cigarettes (10%).

🏷️ All about the price tag: Legal duty-paid brands cost a minimum of Rs 150, while tax-evaded and smuggled brands sell for as low as Rs 30 and Rs 60 respectively, ignoring the Rs 127.4 Minimum Legal Price (MLP).

🚨 What’s so bad about illegality? Locally manufactured tax-evaded and smuggled cigarette brands in Pakistan fail to meet government requirements such as graphic health warnings, underage warnings, retail prices, and manufacturer information.

TLDR: Tax evasion through illicit cigarette trading costs Pakistan a staggering Rs240 billion annually. A survey by Ipsos found that illegal brands make up 48% of the market, with tax-evaded local brands at 38% and smuggled cigarettes at 10%. These brands are sold at lower prices and fail to meet government regulations and health standards.

News Flash

✶ Pakistan went all out in vegetable exports, shipping a staggering 1.035 million tonnes in the first nine months of the fiscal year. Unfortunately, the global market didn't play nice and Pakistan's earnings remained disappointingly low due to the plummeting prices on the global vegetable market.

Tech

Global 🌎️

Never a slow day (or week) when it comes to AI..

There’s never too much AI news in 2023, right?

Some interesting developments we have to tell you about:

🧊 Picture to 3D: Apart from having a gorgeous website, Instorier is also offering a service that turns pictures into detailed 3D images, taking image editing to new heights. By combining 3D technology, graphics, and AI, Instorier has created a breakthrough in photo enhancement.

📱 Unity AI: Unity, the go-to game engine for mobile games, now has a beta version of its AI engine. With this AI technology, developers can create intelligent and interactive elements in their games, taking player experiences to a whole new level. And the best part? It's not just for big teams anymore. Even small teams and solo developers can dive into the world of game development.

🦠 AI antibiotic: Scientists have used AI to discover a new antibiotic that can kill a dangerous superbug. The antibiotic has shown great potential in fighting against Acinetobacter baumannii, a superbug that the World Health Organization considers a serious threat.

🎌 Sky is the limit in Japan: The country has affirmed that AI companies have the right to train their algorithms using any type of data, including copyrighted images. While this decision has stirred controversy, particularly among anime and video game creators, this move shows Japan’s determination to boost its innovation in the field of AI.

TLDR: Instorier's picture-to-3D tool, Unity's AI engine, AI-driven antibiotic discovery, and Japan's progressive AI data rights affirmations mark significant developments in the AI landscape.

What else is new in news

✶It seems like we aren’t the only ones who dread the editing process. Streaming giants - Netflix, Amazon, and Disney- are teaming up to fight India's new tobacco warning regulations. They're not a fan of editing millions of hours of web content and challenging the need for inserting health warnings during smoking scenes.

Local 🇵🇰 

Eyes on 5G 👀

In a bid to tackle the daunting costs of deploying 5G and ensuring a profitable return on investment, telecom operators in Pakistan have proposed a new model for earning revenue from 5G developments instead of spectrum fees (charges for using specific radio frequencies) and taxes.

What do they want? Easy transition. The operators have suggested tax breaks on spectrum fees and local mobile device (handset) manufacturing, as well as streamlined processes for Right of Way (ROW) decisions. They believe that the government should incentivize the transition to 5G to ensure its success.

Telcos ain’t playing no games: Some of their demands include:

• Them getting the spectrum for free during the first five years

• Not pay those import taxes on equipment and 5G handsets

• Some rules to stop the production and import of those old-fashioned 2G/3G handsets

TLDR: Pakistani telecom operators want revenue from 5G without relying on spectrum fees and taxes. They propose tax breaks, free spectrum for five years, no import taxes on equipment and handsets, and a ban on outdated 2G/3G devices.

Tech tour of news

✶OkayKer, a startup that provides a complete platform linking car owners with maintenance workshops, has secured $700,000 in initial funding.

More interesting Itla (اطلاع) we consumed:

🔲 Our prayers have been answered because Black Mirror finally released its trailer for season 6. Cherry on top? It has Annie Murphy (aka Alexis from Schitt's Creek), Aaron Paul (aka Jesse Pinkman from Breaking Bad), and many of our favs joining the cast.