Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb has expressed the government’s firm commitment to take the country towards inclusive and sustainable economic growth.
Winding up discussion on the finance bill 2025-26 in the Senate on Saturday, he said the government exercised fiscal discipline, checked inflation, enhanced foreign exchange reserves and brought improvement in the current account in the outgoing fiscal year.
He said the budget 2025-26 encompasses measures for the public welfare while maintaining fiscal discipline.
The Finance Minister mentioned that the federal expenditures have been envisaged to increase by 1.9 percent in the next fiscal year as compared to ten or twelve percent in previous years.
On the directions of the Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, the Finance Minister said that income tax rate for those earning between six hundred thousand rupees and 1.2 million rupees has been reduced from 2.5 percent to one percent.
He said salaries have been enhanced by ten percent and pensions of retired employees by seven percent in the budget.
Muhammad Aurangzeb said it has also been decided after consultations to reduce sales tax on solar panels to ten percent from eighteen percent.
He said the budget of Benazir Income Support Program has been enhanced to 716 billion rupees from 592 billion rupees.
The Finance Minister was appreciative of the Senate Standing Committee on Finance and Revenue’s recommendations on Finance bill 2025-26, assuring that about fifty percent of these will be made part of the budget.
Earlier, the Senate adopted recommendations of the Standing Committee of Finance and Revenue regarding Finance bill 2025-26.
Chairman of the Standing Committee Saleem Mandviwalla, laid the recommendations before the house today.
Unveiling some major recommendations, Saleem Mandviwalla said that it has been recommended to enhance minimum wage as well as consider further increase in the salaries of employees.
Saleem Mandviwalla said that it has been suggested to further strengthen the Public Finance Act, emphasizing this will bring down the government’s borrowings. It has been recommended to bring to zero tax on educational stationery items.
Saleem Mandviwalla said that the government has also been requested not to enhance tax on vehicles of 800 cc and keep it at the current 12.5 percent. In addition, it has been proposed not to enhance taxes on print and media services as well as IT services.
The recommendations will be forwarded to the National Assembly for consideration.
The chair said that the standing committee on finance and revenue compiled two hundred and four recommendations regarding finance bill 2025-26, which are being forwarded to the National Assembly. He said the Senate held detailed discussion on the budget.
The house has now been prorogued.
