Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb on Friday presented a budget totaling Rs 18.771 trillion, as the federal government seeks to navigate a fragile economic environment amid an energy crisis and growing tensions in the Middle East.
During his budget speech, the Minister of Finance announced tax relief measures for the real estate sector to encourage investment. He said withholding tax on purchase of real estate by filers should be reduced from 2.5% to 1.5%, while sales tax on real estate should be reduced from 5.5% to 2.75%.
Referring to the information technology sector, the Finance Minister said that the digital economy was one of the fastest growing industries in Pakistan.
He noted that IT and IT services exports have already reached $3.8 billion and are expected to approach $4.5 billion by the end of the current fiscal year.
The minister said the concessional Final Tax Regime (FTR) rate of 0.25 per cent given to IT companies was set to expire on June 30, 2026 and was proposed to be extended for another three years, until June 30, 2029.
In addition, the federal government has also proposed a 7% increase in the salaries of public sector employees in the federal budget.
The PML-N-led coalition government also proposed a 7% increase in pensions for government retirees. Additionally, the federal government has proposed a 10% increase in the minimum wage.
