Reiterating the government’s commitment to meeting an ambitious revenue target projected in the budget FY25, Senator Muhammad Aurangzeb, the minister for Finance and Revenue, on Saturday categorically stated that taxes would be imposed on all traders without exception and at all costs.
The rise in the tax target is made up of a 48% increase in direct taxes and a 35% hike in indirect taxes over revised estimates of the last fiscal year. Non-tax revenue, including petroleum levies, is seen increasing by 64%.
“We will definitely address the problems that the budget for the next fiscal year has brought for traders,” Aurangzeb said, addressing business leaders at the regional office of the Federation of Pakistan Chambers of Commerce and Industry in Lahore.
FPCCI Vice President Saqib Fayyaz Magoon, former caretaker Federal Minister for Trade, Industry, Investment, and Interior, and Chairman of the National Economic Think Tank Dr. Gohar Ejaz, FPCCI Regional Chairman and Vice President Zaki Ejaz, Patron-in-Chief of the United Business Group (UBG) and former caretaker Provincial Minister for Industry and Trade and Energy SM Tanveer, FPCCI Vice President Asif Inam, Qura-tul-Ain, and Tariq Javed were also present there.
Stressing that the budget should be viewed from a broader perspective, the finance minister said the economy was moving towards macroeconomic stability.
Amid calls to prevent further electricity price hikes, the finance minister emphasized the imperative to put the distribution companies (Discos) in order; otherwise, the power tariff would continue to increase as it has been lately.
Underscoring the significance of investment both from inside and outside the country, Aurangzeb highlighted the need for economic stability through comprehensive budgetary perspectives. “Foreign investors are as important for Pakistan as the local ones,” the finance minister added.
