PPP lawmaker questions Rs6.9tr direct tax target in budget debate

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Peoples Party lawmaker Hussain Tariq has described the federal budget’s direct tax target of Rs6.9 trillion as overly ambitious and said he does not expect it to be met, while urging Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb to address the concerns he raised during the budget discussion.

Tariq said the budget should not be viewed only through numbers, but also as a statement of the country’s financial direction and its effect on the public. He said the PPP approaches budget debate through facts and figures, but has consistently focused on how fiscal measures affect ordinary people. Speaking about that impact, he said changes were necessary if the budget added to the cost of living, adding that discussions on the matter had continued within the government.

Referring to Federal Board of Revenue targets, the PPP MNA said the previous goal of Rs14.131 trillion, like earlier yearly targets, was not achieved and later had to be revised. He said the new Rs15.264 trillion target represented a 17% increase over last year, while inflation had been adjusted at 8%, and questioned how that gap would be managed.

He also cited PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari’s criticism of the tax authority’s practice of setting goals it then fails to meet, saying that this later creates a tug of war between the federation and provinces over revenue responsibilities.

Concerns over indirect taxes and inflation

Tariq said lawmakers broadly recognise indirect taxes as regressive. He referred to a revised target of Rs6.5 trillion under this head and said an overall 17% revision had been added.

Highlighting cost pressures on low-income households, he said the Sensitive Price Indicator had risen 14.75%, which, in his view, showed a serious burden on the poor. He referred to year-on-year data up to June 4 and said prices of 51 essential items used by lower-income groups had increased.

While accepting that headline inflation was around 8%, he said other pressures were also weighing on households. He said petrol prices had gone up because of war-related conditions and added that electricity inflation had climbed 54% over a year.

In this context, Tariq questioned how a worker on the minimum wage could manage electricity bills without compromising family needs, and said people should not be left without support because of external shocks such as war.

Employment, agriculture and regional equity

The lawmaker also said the budget did not appear to set out a clear financial path for the coming years, particularly on job creation and on both short- and long-term economic policy.

On agriculture, Tariq said he appreciated Minister Rana Tanveer Hussain for his work in the National Food Security sector. He said opportunities in areas including GMO and gene editing had not been fully used in the past. Although policy changes had been introduced, he said farmers still were not benefiting enough to invest in modern machinery.

He added that agriculture often delivered only a 50% profit margin while input costs remained elevated. Referring to the government’s own remarks, he said the finance minister had stated that agriculture received considerable attention last year, but that this year the sector saw only limited discussion.

Tariq further said Rs117.4 billion had been allocated for agriculture, which he described as the backbone of the economy. He concluded by stressing that equitable allocation should not stop at the provincial level and should extend to districts, where he said economic strain was most visible.