Despite the noise and protests by the opposition in the National Assembly, Federal Minister for Finance Shaukat Tareen presented the federal budget of Rs 8,487 billion for the financial year 22-2021.
As soon as Federal Finance Minister Shaukat Tareen started his budget speech in the National Assembly, the opposition started protesting and making noise.
The Finance Minister put on headphones to avoid the noise of the opposition. Despite the noise of the opposition, Shaukat Tareen continued his budget speech.
Finance Minister Shaukat Tareen said that it was an honor for me to present the third budget of the government. Under the leadership of Imran Khan, the economy was brought to the shores from many storms. We were facing bankruptcy due to debts.
He said that there are difficulties but the economy has been given a solid foundation and now the economy is moving towards development and prosperity.
He said that the target of economic growth for the next financial year has been set at 4.8% in the federal budget. The current account deficit was a big challenge in 2018 and it has been overcome. The current account deficit has become surplus, 20 billion. The current account deficit was surplus in April 2021.
Shaukat Tareen said that salaries and pensions of federal government employees have been increased by 10%, minimum wage has been increased to Rs 20,000 per month, per capita income has increased by 15%, orderly allowance has been increased from Rs 14,000. The tax is being increased to Rs. 17,000.
The Finance Minister said that Rs 100 billion has been allocated for the Covid Emergency Relief Fund, Rs 5 billion for local government elections and new census, Rs 20 billion for PIA in the federal budget and Rs. Rs 16 billion has been proposed for Mills, Rs 100 million has been allocated for Anti-Rape Fund, Rs 66 billion has been allocated for Higher Education Commission.
During the budget speech, Federal Minister for Finance Shaukat Tareen said that no new tax will be imposed on the salaried class, increased the cash assistance of Ehsas program, we are moving towards economic growth with stability, the government is leading the country on the path of development. Success has been achieved, economic growth has been recorded in every sector.
He said production of all crops except cotton has increased, services have grown significantly, which has reduced poverty, and the third wave of corona virus has prevented large-scale business shutdowns. The government has not faced such a bad situation in the past.
The Finance Minister said that employment opportunities were created in the large scale manufacturing sector, despite the outbreak of Corona virus, per capita income increased by 15%, exports increased by 14% this year, taxes collected in the country reached Rs 4,000 billion. The psychological threshold has been crossed, tax collections have improved by 18%, tax refund payments have increased by 75%, this year has seen a remarkable growth in exports.
He said that remittances have increased by a record 25%, the value of rupee has increased significantly, overseas Pakistanis have played an important role in improving accounts, increase in remittances from abroad is sign of confidence in Imran Khan’s leadership.
Shaukat Tareen said that the rate of federal excise duty on telecom is proposed to be reduced from 17% to 16%, remittances from abroad have increased by 25%, crude oil price has increased by 180% as compared to last year. The price of sugar rose 56% internationally, while the price of sugar rose 18% domestically.
He said that employment opportunities would be created, exports would be increased, industries related to construction industry would be promoted, tax exemption package has been formulated for housing schemes, 3 for construction of houses for low income earners. 1 lakh subsidy is being given, banks have received loan applications of Rs 100 billion for construction of houses, Rs 70 billion has been sanctioned for construction of houses, payment is in progress, at present there is a shortage of 10 million residential houses in Pakistan. Yes, we want to turn the tide of history.
The Federal Minister of Finance said that it is proposed to allocate Rs. 739 billion for Karachi Transformation Plan. The Federal Government will provide Rs. 98 billion for Karachi Transformation Plan. Rs. 509 billion will be included for this plan through public-private partnership. ۔
He said that it has been proposed to allocate Rs. 8.5 billion to generate 2160 MW of electricity from Dasu Hydropower Project. Rs. 57 billion has been allocated for the first phase of this project. Construction of Bhasha and Mohmand will be our priority. It is proposed to allocate Rs. 23 billion for Diamer Bhasha Dam, Rs. 6 billion for Mohmand Dam, Rs. 14 billion for Neelum Jhelum Power Project. It is proposed to allocate Rs 91 billion for water conservation.
Shaukat Tareen said that more than a dozen programs have been launched under Ehsas program, it is proposed to allocate Rs. 12 billion for agriculture sector, Rs. 1 billion for locust heart and food security project. It is proposed to allocate Rs. 2 billion to increase the production of rice, wheat, cotton, sugarcane and pulses and Rs. 1 billion to increase the cultivation of olives.
He said that farmers got income of Rs. 3100 billion which was Rs. 2300 billion last year, production of wheat, sugarcane, rice has increased, Rs. 12 billion has been allocated for agriculture sector next year, development budget has been increased to Rs. 630 billion. It is proposed to increase it to Rs. 900 billion, adding more than 40% to the development budget.
The Finance Minister said that measures of 6-7% growth are being taken in the next two to three years, the economic growth target for the next financial year is 4.8%, no new tax will be imposed on the salaried class. , Tax breaks for powerful groups will be abolished.
He said that sales tax rate on locally manufactured vehicles is being reduced from 17% to 12.5%, value added tax on locally manufactured vehicles is being abolished, exemption in federal excise duty on 850 cc vehicles. And sales tax is being reduced, existing vehicles and new model makers are being exempted from advance customs duty, import of agricultural implements and 850 cc vehicles is also proposed to be exempted from holding tax. Customs and regulatory duty on imported vehicles up to 850 cc is being waived, customs duty for electric vehicles is being reduced for one year, sales tax rate for electric vehicles is 17%. It is proposed to reduce taxes on certain types of locally manufactured heavy motorcycles, trucks and tractors.
Shaukat Tareen says that ML One Package III will be launched in July 2022, ML One project will be completed at a cost of ارب 9.3 billion, 107 projects at a cost of Rs 444 billion for the development of more than 14 districts of Sindh. The government attaches special importance to the development of the newly integrated districts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. Rs. 54 billion has been set aside for the development of the newly integrated districts.
He said the federal excise duty on fruit juices was being abolished, the target was to vaccinate 100 million people by June 2022, 1. 1.1 billion would be spent on vaccine imports, and next year’s fiscal deficit would be 6.6 per cent. It is expected to be 3%, the current budget deficit is 7.1%.
The Federal Minister of Finance said that federal excise duty is being levied on mobile phone calls lasting more than three minutes, federal excise duty is being levied on internet data usage and SMS, the current withholding tax rate on mobile phones is 12. It is proposed to reduce the decimal point from 5% to 10%, while the withholding tax on mobile services will be gradually reduced to 8%.
He said that federal expenditure is Rs. 8497, expenditure has increased by 15%, it is proposed to include sugar in the third schedule, work has been started on Sialkot to Kharian, Sukkur to Hyderabad motorway, Pakistan Climate Change The reduction in the discretionary powers of the Income Tax Authority has been proposed.
Shaukat Tareen said that Rs 118 billion has been set aside for power transmission projects, Rs 7.5 billion has been set aside for power transmission lines in Islamabad and Lahore, and a 40 per cent reduction in holding tax regime has been proposed. For T-Zone, tax exemption is proposed on plant, machinery, equipment and raw materials, tax exemption for warehouses of agricultural commodities and inclusion of e-commerce in the sales tax net.
He said that an additional 25 per cent would be provided to the provinces, the rate of capital gains tax would be reduced from 15 per cent to 12.5 per cent, and it was proposed to exempt imports of books and magazines from withholding tax. Rs 10 billion has been set aside for a successful Pakistan program, Rs 66 billion is proposed for higher education and Rs 60 billion has been set aside for Azad Jammu and Kashmir.
The Finance Minister further said that an amount of Rs. 5 billion has been proposed by the Federal Government for the new census, Special Economic Zones Enterprises will be given minimum tax exemption, Special Technology Zone Authority, Zone Developers and Enterprises. A 10-year tax rebate is proposed for the country, a tax rebate on capital goods imports is proposed, and an annual turnover limit of Rs 10 million is being set to facilitate small businesses.
He also said that we will also protect the taxpayers, restore the self-assessment scheme in its original form, crack down on those who harass the taxpayers, the rich will be told that their Pay due share, simple tax return forms and new rules are being introduced to simplify the tax system, steps are being taken in sales tax and FED, special technology zones are being set up in the country. ۔