News

Budget and politics

FINANCE MINISTER Muhammad Aurangzeb on Thursday expressed his ‘resolve’ to increase Pakistan’s tax-to-GDP ratio to 13pc in the next three years. Addressing a post-budget media briefing, he said: “Our basic principle while framing this budget was to expand the tax base.” Given this statement and his earlier declaration at the launch of the Economic Survey that “countries cannot be run on charity

Budget 2024-25: Hope? Or more of the same?

A contractionary budget during an economic crisis results in tighter belts all around. How has the budget impacted your household expenditure in the coming year? (The results of the survey will be published in B&F's special report on the budget)

SBP reserves dip

Foreign exchange reserves of the State Bank of Pakistan decreased by $6 million to $9.103 billion during the week ended on June 7. According to the SBP, the reserves could see a further drop in next two months due to debt servicing in the first quarter of FY25. The State Bank said the total liquid foreign reserves held by the country stood at $14.383bn as of June 7. Net foreign exchange rese

LPG may get costlier by Rs30 per kg

The Pakistan LPG Marketers Association (PLPMA) has predicted a potential increase of Rs30 per kg in the price of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG). This projection is based on a significant rise in the petroleum development levy (PDL) and an additional 18 per cent sales tax imposed on imported LPG. In a statement, Vice-Chairman Ali Haider said the association calls for an immediate review of these

Budget disappointing: P@SHA

The Pakistan Software Houses Association (P@SHA) has said that the budget 2024-25 will only increase the brain drain from the country, especially in the IT sector, due to high taxation in this sector, which will eventually restrict growth and innovation. P@SHA Chairman Muhammad Zohaib Khan has said that the government has completely overlooked the IT industry’s budgetary proposals despite repea