Government approved budget of fiscal year 2022-23 on Friday in Cabinet meeting chaired by Prime Minister (PM) Shehbaz Shareef.
15% salary and 5%pension has been approved.
Earlier , suggestion for 10% salary increase was rejected by the PM to bring it up to 15%.
Government has also merged government employees’ ad-hoc allowance into basic salary.
Proposal for allocating 800 billion rupees on account of devedlopment e budget has alos been approved. Funds have been earmarked for 1150 development schemes including 105 billion for Balochistan, 68 billion for Sindha 50 billion for Punjab and 48 billion for KPK province.
According to budget document current account deficit is 15 billion and business account deficit is 27 billion 800 million.
Salient features of Budget 2022-23
1. It is expected to be a progressive Budget that would lay the foundation for future growth budgets
2. Salaried class: minimal taxable income limit raised from 6lac to 12 lac tax burden on middle class will be reduced
3. Revival of film industry and measures to support our artists, film production and cinema development to promote culture tourism and and positive image of Pakistan around the world
4. Youth is our future and major initiatives are in the offing for our youth.
5. Those having monthly income less than Rs40,000, will be compensated monetarily.
6. Significant increase in funding for BISP program to eliminate poverty
7. Benazir scholarship program is being extended to ten million students
8. CPEC projects will be fast tracked by providing additional funds
9. Focused attention on early start of Special Economic Zones under CPEC.
10. Tax breaks to IT, agriculture, food security, renewable energy education, youth income.
11. Shifting income from non-productive to productive assets
12 shift of wealth from rich to poor
13. Export and investment led budget
14. HEC development budget increased 67 percent from last year –
15. 5000 scholar ships to balochistan students, additional scholarships for coastal areas of balochistan, provision of funds for state of the art equipments to education sector
16. Zero loads shedding to Industrial feeders
17. Min tax bracket raised from 4 lakh to 6 lakhs for small buisness men and women
18. Taxable Profits limit on Saving certificates, pensioner benefit, martyrs family welfare account investments is reduced from 10 percent to 5 percent
19. Introduction of fixed income and sales tax regimes starting from 3000 and not more than 10,000 and after that FBR will not ask them for any further tax
20. Industry and buisness depreciation cost is changed from 50% to 100 % for the first year
21. Accumulation of non-production asset including real state with rich increases prices of houses for poor. Introduction of tax on non-productive assets of rich so that balance is created and direct impact will be reduction of property for poor. The 5 %tax is imposed on the second property of value of 2.5 crore
22. 15 % increase in the salary of Govt officials
23. Tax increase on luxury cars of 1600 CC and above
24. 0 sales tax on import of solar panels and distribution
25. 0 tax on agriculture machinery and input including tractor, wheat, rice, seeds and distribution
26. 10 billion for climate change
27. Vaccination, disease control and capacity building of Health institutions 24 billion
28. Agriculture machinery exempted from custom duty, all type of agriculture implements and input machinery, green house farming , processing , protection of plans equipment , drip irrigation , water supply , exempted from tax – 0 tax – HUGE – first time
29. Rationalisation and reduction of tariff-lines in the custom code
30. Complete custom Duty exemption pharmaceutical ingredients, basic raw material used in the manufacturing of various kinds of medicines
31. To reduce litigation alternate dispute resolution mechanism has been provided for out of court settlement of disputes. This will hugely reduce the litigation cost for tax prayers.
