Salaried class gets relief in annual budget, says FBR chief

Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) Chairman Asim Ahmad has said the salaried class has been provided with relief in the federal budget, 24NewsHD TV channel reported Friday.

Tax exemption has been given on annual income of Rs1.2 million, he said, adding that additional tax has been imposed on non-filers.

Additional taxes of Rs355 billion have been imposed in the budget, the FBR chief said, adding that sales tax on import of power plants machinery, and sales tax on tractors and seeds has been abolished.

Excise duty on local cigarettes has been increased, he maintained. Unveiling the annual budget, Federal Minister for Finance Miftah Ismail said the total volume of the budget was Rs502 trillion. The budget deficit is expected to hover around Rs5,100 billion; while the circular debt of electricity has reached Rs2,500 billion and for gas, it has ballooned to Rs1,400 billion.

According to the budget speech, the total expenditure will be estimated at Rs9,502 billion and the revenue target will be Rs6,000 billion. Rs800 billion will be set aside for Annual Development Plan. The salaries of government employees will be raised by 15 percent and a special package will also be announced for the backward areas of Balochistan.