{"id":63919,"date":"2025-01-28T19:05:29","date_gmt":"2025-01-28T14:05:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dailyausaf.com\/en\/?p=63919"},"modified":"2025-01-28T19:05:29","modified_gmt":"2025-01-28T14:05:29","slug":"finance-minister-acknowledges-high-tax-burden-on-salaries-class-hints-at-tax-slab-review","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dailyausaf.com\/en\/pakistan\/finance-minister-acknowledges-high-tax-burden-on-salaries-class-hints-at-tax-slab-review\/","title":{"rendered":"Finance minister acknowledges high tax burden on salaries class, hints at tax slab review"},"content":{"rendered":"

ISLAMABAD: The disproportionately high tax burden on Pakistan\u2019s salaried class has been acknowledged by Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb<\/a>, who hinted at a possible review of the current tax slabs.<\/p>\n

The finance minister said this while addressing a \u201cDialogue on the Economy\u201d event organised by the Pakistan Business Council (PBC).<\/p>\n

Aurangzeb stressed the government\u2019s intention to simplify the tax filing process for the salaried class. He said that we want to make life easier for the salaried class in Pakistan.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe reality is that we need to think about the different tax slabs that we have. However, I cannot make any commitment about it,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n

According to a press release issued today, the finance minister revealed that the government had started its budget process in early January.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis will give us time to have detailed discussions,\u201d he said, adding that consultations with business chambers are scheduled to begin in February, with detailed feedback expected by March or April.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are in the Fund (IMF) programme, we have made commitments, and so some things will have to be done in phases or in stages,\u201d he explained.<\/p>\n

The budget for the financial year 2025-26 will be presented in the first week of June 2025, according to a circular from the Finance Division.<\/p>\n

Aurangzeb reiterated that all economic indicators are moving in the right direction.<\/p>\n

Referring to the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) decision on Monday, where the central bank cut the policy rate by 100 basis points (bps), he noted that the KIBOR rate has fallen to around 11 percent.<\/p>\n

The State Bank of Pakistan\u2019s (SBP) MPC cut the key policy rate by 100 bps, bringing it to 12%.<\/p>\n

This is the sixth consecutive rate cut since June 2024, when it was 22 percent. Aurangzeb hoped that the interest rate cut would boost business confidence.<\/p>\n

He also highlighted the State Bank\u2019s estimate of reaching $13 billion in foreign exchange reserves by the end of the current fiscal year, calling it \u201ca very important milestone.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThis will basically take us to about three months of import coverage,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is a major stimulus for the economy and if everything goes well, the sovereign will be re-rated to a B category,\u201d Aurangzeb noted, attributing the development to \u201cvery strong remittance flows and IT services exports.\u201d<\/p>\n

Discussing the IMF program, he reiterated the government\u2019s commitment to its responsibilities. Aurangzeb added that the government\u2019s focus is on pursuing a policy of cost-cutting and entitlements.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

ISLAMABAD: The disproportionately high tax burden on Pakistan\u2019s salaried class has been acknowledged by Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb, who hinted at a possible review of the current tax slabs. The finance minister said this while addressing a \u201cDialogue on the Economy\u201d event organised by the Pakistan Business Council (PBC). Aurangzeb stressed the government\u2019s intention to […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":8,"featured_media":41009,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[12102],"class_list":["post-63919","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-pakistan","tag-muhammad-aurangzeb"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyausaf.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/63919","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyausaf.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyausaf.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyausaf.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/8"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyausaf.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=63919"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/dailyausaf.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/63919\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":63920,"href":"https:\/\/dailyausaf.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/63919\/revisions\/63920"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyausaf.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/41009"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyausaf.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=63919"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyausaf.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=63919"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyausaf.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=63919"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}