Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb on Friday presented a budget with a total outlay of Rs18.771 trillion, as the federal government seeks to navigate a fragile economic environment amid an energy crisis and rising tensions in the Middle East.
During his budget speech, the finance minister announced proposed tax relief measures for the property sector to encourage investment. He said the withholding tax on the purchase of property by filers is proposed to be reduced from 2.5% to 1.5%, while the tax on property sales is proposed to be cut from 5.5% to 2.75%.
Referring to the information technology sector, the finance minister said the digital economy was among the fastest-growing industries in Pakistan.
He noted that IT and IT-enabled services exports had already reached $3.8 billion and were 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% available to IT companies was due 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 retired government employees. Furthermore, the federal government has suggested a 10% increase in the minimum wage.
2026-06-12 20:18:00
