Budget 2024-25: Govt to increase tax on RS 100 mobile phone recharge

ISLAMABAD: The government has proposed a series of punitive measures in the annual budget for FY2024-25 to punish individuals and businesses who do not file income tax returns, including the possibility of being barred from foreign travel.

The minister proposed the imposition of a 75 percent tax on mobile balance recharge by non-filers, a move that aims at encouraging people to become taxpayers.

The proposal suggests that the government intends to deduct Rs75 in taxes from each prepaid recharge of Rs100. This means that a non-filer user of prepaid SIM cards will receive only Rs25 out of a Rs100 recharge.

The country’s financial czar presented recommended revisions, describing income tax reform as urgent. Muhammad Aurangzeb noted the Federal Board of Revenue’s (FBR) recent adoption of income tax reforms and advocated keeping the income tax exemption for incomes up to Rs 600,000 per year.