Marginally improving fiscal planning

Drawing comfort from the Iran-Israel ceasefire and adhering to the two-week schedule for the budget debate, the National Assembly last week passed a relatively improved version of the proposed federal budget for 2025-26. While its core remained largely unchanged, subtle in form and far from ideal, it was nonetheless a step forward. The Finance Bill, set to become law upon presidential assent, is notably more people and business-friendly, and less autocratic in tone, than the original draft presented by Finance Minister Aurangzeb Khan on June 10. It has significantly raised the taxable income threshold, moderately reduced income tax rates for salaried middle class, slightly lowered the super tax on businesses, adopted a more lenient stance on tax frauds and property and car transactions by non-filers, increased the minimum wage, and enhanced allocation for the Benazir Income Support Programme (BISP), among other measures.