KARACHI: The budget for the fiscal year 2026-27 will be presented next month, and key proposals have already been submitted to the Ministry of Finance.
The Federation of Pakistan Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FPCCI) has shared its recommendations, including significant measures such as reducing income tax for salaried individuals and eliminating the super tax.
FPCCI has requested a 5 percent reduction in income tax for the salaried class, proposing to lower the tax rate from 36 percent to 30 percent. They also suggested removing the 9 percent surcharge on salaried individuals and increasing the non-taxable income slab from 600,000 to 1.2 million rupees.
To boost exports, FPCCI recommended restoring the Final Tax Regime (FTR) for goods exporters and maintaining the 25 percent export tax on the IT sector until 2035.
Other proposals include raising the SME turnover threshold from 250 million to 500 million rupees, linking it to the Consumer Price Index (CPI), and reducing the income tax rate for manufacturers from 29 percent to 20 percent.
FPCCI President Atif Ikram stated that long-term policies could increase IT exports from 3.8 billion dollars to 10 billion dollars. He emphasized that the super tax discourages investment and should be completely removed in the upcoming budget.
Commenting on the economy, Ikram noted that Pakistan faced significant challenges in 2022, but thanks to the tireless efforts of the Prime Minister and Field Marshal, the country is now on a path toward economic stability.
