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Business Recorder
3 days ago
- Business
- Business Recorder
Petroleum products: 26.4pc rise in PL envisaged
ISLAMABAD: The federal budget 2025-26 envisages a 26.4 percent raise in petroleum levy (PL) on petroleum products after raising its maximum limit to Rs 90 per litre from Rs 70 per litre. A significant Rs 1,468.395 billion PL on petroleum products has been budgeted for upcoming fiscal year. This represents a substantial rise of Rs 307.395 billion compared to the current revised estimates of Rs 1,161 billion for the ongoing fiscal year. It is also considerably higher than the original budgeted PL of Rs 1,281 billion for the outgoing fiscal year 2024-25. Next fiscal year's budgeted PL is Rs 158 billion higher than what was projected for next fiscal year under this head by the International Monetary Fund in its first staff-level report uploaded on its website on May 17, 2025. The projected collection is Rs 1311 billion for next fiscal year. Last 3-1/2 months of FY25: petroleum levy hike by Rs18.02 to generate Rs90bn revenue The PL revenue has been given a high priority by successive federal governments as it is not part of the Federal Divisible Pool (FDP) that has to be shared with the provinces as per the National Finance Commission (NFC) formula. A budgeted target of Rs 105 billion through imposition of a levy on Off the Grid (Captive Power Plants) has been set for next fiscal year. The National Assembly passed the 'Off the Grid (Captive Power Plants) Levy Bill, 2025'. This levy, initially 5 percent, will increase to 10 percent by July 2025, 15 percent by February 2026, and 20 percent by August 2026. The government has also proposed to increase the Gas Infrastructure Development Cess (GIDC) collection at Rs 2.4 billion for the next fiscal year from revised current estimates of Rs 1 billion. The GIDC was originally budgeted at an amount of Rs2.5 billion for the current fiscal. In June 2020, the Supreme Court of Pakistan ruled that various sectors of the economy must clear outstanding Rs 407 billion GIDC in 60 months but the government has yet to realize this amount due to stay orders obtained by various companies. Natural Gas Development Surcharge (GDS) - the difference between prescribed and sale price of gas that goes to provinces - is projected to bring Rs49.437 billion next year against original budgeted Rs25.618 billion and revised Rs48 billion in the outgoing fiscal year. The government has also envisaged to collect Rs5 billion for the PL on Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) in next fiscal 2025-26. This is compared to the revised target of Rs 3.156 billion for the current fiscal year. The original budget for the PL on LPG in the current fiscal year was at Rs3.537 billion. The budget for fiscal year 2025-26 envisages Rs30 billion to be retained as a discount on local crude oil prices. This is higher than the revised estimate of Rs 25 billion for the current fiscal year the same as budgeted for the current year. The budget for next year proposes an increase in royalty on crude oil and increase in royalty on natural gas for provinces. The budgeted amount for royalty on crude oil is set at Rs69 billion for next financial year against the revised estimates of Rs64 billion for the outgoing year. The government budgeted Rs38 billion in royalty on natural gas in the next financial year against a revised target of Rs135 billion and budgeted Rs103.751 billion in 2024-25. Next year's budget envisages Rs20 billion on account of windfall levy on crude oil against budgeted amount of Rs 28 billion for the current financial year 2024-25. Windfall levy on gas has been budgeted at Rs 450 million which was revised estimates of Rs450 million in current fiscal year. Miscellaneous receipts of oil and gas companies are budgeted to generate Rs 1887.682 billion against a revised estimate of Rs 1464.606 billion and budgeted estimates of Rs 1528.46 billion in the outgoing financial year. Copyright Business Recorder, 2025
Business Recorder
15-05-2025
- Business
- Business Recorder
Off-the-grid levy on gas-based CPPs: Govt moves copy of proposed bill in Senate
ISLAMABAD: The government, Wednesday, moved a copy of the - Off the Grid (Captive Power Plants) Levy Bill 2025 - a money bill that provides for imposing an off the grid levy on natural gas based captive power plants. Deputy Prime Minister Ishaq Dar, in his additional official capacity as Leader of the House in Senate, moved a copy of the bill on the maiden day of the Senate's 350th session. Taking the floor, Dar sought the permission of Deputy Chairman Senate Syedaal Khan, who was chairing the session, to lay a copy of the bill in the House, as required under Article 73 of the Constitution of Pakistan, which, the chair granted. The bill aims to impose an off the grid levy on natural gas based captive power plants, Dar said. Zeeshan Khanzada from Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) objected to laying the money's bill copy in the House, keeping in view that Senate's Wednesday business was a condolence reference for late former senator Sajid Mir. In response, Law Minister Azam Tarar, as well as the leader of the house, and the deputy chairman Senate, insisted that the matter was already taken care of in the Senate House Business Advisory Committee. 'This issue is already settled in the House Business Advisory Committee,' said the law minister. Dar said the Senate can deal with a money bill only in advisory capacity. 'Nothing is going to happen—you only have to give recommendations—you can't even vote on this bill,' he told the PTI senator. 'It is obligatory on all of us to follow the decisions taken in the House Business Advisory Committee—otherwise, the sanctity of this committee would stand violated,' Dar said. 'Your parliamentary leader was in the House Business Advisory Committee where this issue was resolved,' the deputy chairman told Khanzada. Dar then moved a bill's copy in the Senate, which was referred to the Senate Standing Committee on Finance and Revenue. The deputy chairman Senate directed the senators to give their recommendations, if any, regarding the bill, latest by 10 am Thursday (May 15). The chair directed the committee to present its report by today. The Upper House of the Parliament can hold extensive debate on a money bill and devise recommendations accordingly — but it has no significant role in the related legislation — since it is completely up to the National Assembly to either completely or partially accept those recommendations or reject them—partially or completely. Article 73 of the constitution, which deals with parliamentary business with respect to money bills, reads, a money bill shall 'originate in the National Assembly: Provided that simultaneously when a money bill — is presented in the National Assembly, a copy thereof shall be transmitted to the Senate, which may - make recommendations thereon to the National Assembly.' Earlier, senators from different political parties paid homage to Mir, the late former senator, who belonged to Pakistan Muslim League Nawaz (PML-N). The House also passed a unanimous resolution, moved by the law minister, in recognition of Mir's services. The House was adjourned till Thursday. Copyright Business Recorder, 2025
Yahoo
13-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Avalanche's John Nahas on web3 gaming: ‘Blockchain on the backend'
As blockchain matures beyond peer-to-peer payments, gaming is fast becoming one of its most compelling frontiers — and Avalanche is betting big on that transformation. Speaking with TheStreet Roundtable's Malak Albaw, John Nahas, Chief Business Officer at Ava Labs (the team driving Avalanche's growth), explained how their ecosystem is changing the game for everyday users of decentralized apps. 'The problem that we have in this space... is that the user experience and the user interfaces are very difficult,' Nahas said. 'That's because you have to, again, contort your application to fit the existing blockchain infrastructure that exists.' But Avalanche is flipping that script. 'With Avalanche, you can have a blockchain on the backend,' he explained. 'A perfect example is Gunzilla Games. They have Off the Grid, it's a new AAA game that's on PlayStation, Xbox, and PC. They have 15 million users. Every user that has an account... has a Web3 wallet on the backend.' In this model, every in-game item — whether earned or purchased — is not just data but a digital asset owned by the player. 'All of their in-game assets... are owned by them and are able to be freely traded,' Nahas said. 'This is using blockchain for efficiencies, to unlock new use cases.' Beyond gaming, Avalanche's strategy is sweeping. 'We like to look at it comprehensively,' Nahas said. 'We can tackle payments... institutional adoption, tokenize real-world assets... enterprise use cases such as loyalty and rewards.' And for gamers used to closed ecosystems, the Web3 model offers something radical: control. 'You don't really own your assets,' Nahas said of Web2 games. 'In a situation like Off the Grid, you are able to own your own assets. You can sell them, you can trade them... It gives ownership back to the player.' Avalanche Labs is the development arm behind the Avalanche blockchain, a high-performance, scalable Layer-1 platform designed for decentralized applications and custom blockchain networks. Founded by Emin Gün Sirer and launched in 2020, Avalanche supports fast transaction finality and low fees through its unique consensus protocol. It enables developers to create interoperable subnets tailored for everything from gaming and DeFi to institutional-grade finance. Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Yahoo
25-02-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Adin Ross says he is planning a GTA 6 server where you can earn real money
Online rabble-rouser Adin Ross, a popular livestreamer who was banned from Twitch for 'hateful conduct', has hatched a plan to launch a crypto-fueled GTA 6 economy that pays players for their in-game exploits. Unphased by the lack of info on the highly-anticipated game including, most prominently, the lack of a PC release date, Ross claims his GTA 6 server will see players earn real money for virtual hustles, from flipping houses to selling drugs. The rub? Players will have to convert their in-game coin into a cryptocurrency, of course. And, if you die, you lose it all. Ross made the comments on a podcast associated with viral pranksters the Nelk Boys who, along with Ross and Joe Rogan, fall into a nebulous segment of the internet dubbed the 'Manosphere'. Together, these outspoken influencers were credited with helping President Donald Trump clinch the Gen Z male vote. Needless to say, Ross's master plan to turn GTA 6 into a side gig for millions of players is full of holes. As social media users have pointed out, his server would be in violation of Rockstar Games and Take-Two's terms of service. Under commercial exploitation, they explicitly state that 'generating revenue via corporate sponsorships or in-game integrations, or the use of cryptocurrencies or crypto assets (e.g. NFTs) is not allowed. Not to mention the fact that gamers have previously taken umbrage with the idea of earn-as-you-play games, fearing that shady outsiders are exploiting their favorite pastime to line their pockets. It doesn't help that most of these projects have been associated with crypto, which is known for being rife with scams. Still, there have been some glimmers of hope. A recent shooter called Off the Grid felt like a more fleshed-out release, with an optional crypto-currency marketplace that saw players trading digital weapons and other items as NFTs. So, can we put this down to Ross's attention-seeking antics or is the 24-year-old on to something? Interestingly, a recent report did indicate that players would be able to earn money from GTA 6, but not in the way Ross is proposing. According to Digiday, Rockstar Games has held discussions with top creators from platforms like Roblox and Fortnite, as well as existing GTA 5 content creators, to develop content for GTA6. Notably, Roblox creators are making more bank than ever courtesy of their virtual clothing collections and in-game worlds. Between late October and January, they waltzed off with $280 million (£221mn), a 27 per cent increase from the year prior. The timing of Ross's announcement couldn't be worse, however. After a surge following Trump's inauguration, crypto has hit a reality check. Bitcoin, Ethereum, and a slew of so-called meme coins have all plummeted amid wider stock market turmoil sparked, in part, by the threat of a Trump-induced global trade war.
