Check your facts: There is a false rumor circulating that the Punjab government is taxing graves.
It is confirmed by two government representatives and budget records that the province has not levied any taxes on graves.
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Online users are disseminating a film purportedly from a local news channel, which states that the Punjab government has included taxes on adult and child graves in its latest budget.
This assertion is untrue.
Declare
A two-minute video was posted on X, formerly known as Twitter, on July 4. The caption read, “Graves will also be taxed.” You will need to pay Rs. 1,500 for an adult’s grave and Rs. 1,000 for a child’s.
A report by a local news program that makes a similar claim is shown in the attached video.As of the time of writing, the video had been watched over 100 times.
Similar assertions were made here and here on other platforms as well.
Reality
Government authorities in the Punjab province claim that no charges have been placed on graves and that no proposal for such levies is currently being considered.
The online assertions were referred to as “fake” by Asia Gul, the special secretary of local government and community development in Lahore.
“The local government has not initiated any such proposal nor has the government approved any such suggestion,” she said.
Furthermore, Aslam Nadeem, the Punjab Shehr-e-Khamoshan Authority’s director of administration and finance, who oversees the establishment of model graveyards across the province, verified that he had not seen any such proposal and was not aware of any taxes on graves in the province.
Fact Check reviewed the Punjab budget for 2024-2025 and found no mention of any taxes on graves.
A combined keyword and reverse search revealed that the clip of the local news channel being shared online was not recent and was actually from 2019.
