Relief | Pakistan

Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb presented the budget for fiscal year 2025-26 on the floor of the National Assembly on Tuesday amid a routine protest by the opposition. Pakistan’s budget for the upcoming year aims for GDP growth of 4.2 per cent and sets an ambitious tax collection target at Rs14,131 billion. Relief for the salaried class Most awaited among the rumoured announcements was some relief for the country’s much-burdened salaried class across all income slabs, according to the finance minister. “This relief will not only simplify the tax structure but will also ensure a balance between inflation and take-home pay by reducing the tax burden on middle-income earners,” he said. The minister also announced a 10pc increase in salaries to government employees from Grade-1 to Grade-22. Proposed changes in income tax: People earning Rs600,000-Rs1.2 million: tax reduced from five per cent to 2.5pc People earning Rs1.2m to be charged Rs6,000 instead of Rs30,000 People earning upto Rs2.2m: tax reduced to 11p...