Punjab unveils Rs5.46 trillion budget

Punjab Finance Minister Mian Mujtaba Shuja-ur-Rehman is presenting the Punjab budget 2024-25 in the provincial Assembly Thursday.  

The session is underway and is chaired by Speaker Malik Ahmed Muhammad Khan amid the opposition protest.

The session kicked off with a delay of one hour and 38 minutes.

The budget outlay of Rs5,446 billion, including Rs842 billion allocated for development expenditure and a surplus of Rs630 billion.

Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz Sharif was also in the attendance during the budget speech.

He said that inflation is likely to come down further in the coming days, thanks to government’s financial stability efforts are bearing fruit, investors are looking for investment opportunities in many sectors.

The finance minister said that the federal government has set a target of Rs 12,970 for tax revenue, Rs 4,845 billion for non-tax revenue, Rs 5,512 billion for direct tax collection and Rs 5,454.6 billion for income tax. A target of billion rupees has been set.

He said that the target of ongoing expenditure would be Rs17,203 billion, while interest payment would cost Rs9,775 billion.

The budget deficit next year is estimated to be Rs 8,500 billion and the budget deficit in the current financial year is estimated at Rs 8,388 billion, while the total budget deficit is estimated to be Rs 7,283 billion.

In the budget for the next financial year 2024-25, the income tax of the salaried class has been increased and people with a monthly income of Rs 50,000 have been exempted from income tax.

Income tax has been increased to 5% for those earning Rs 6 lakh to Rs 12 lakh annually. Income tax has been increased to 5% on monthly income up to Rs 100,000. The monthly income tax has been increased from Rs 1,250 to Rs 2,500.

The tax on annual income from Rs 1.2 million to Rs2.2 million has been increased to 15%. Income tax has been levied at 15 percent on those with a monthly salary of Rs 1,83,344. The income tax of these people has been increased from Rs 11,667 to Rs 15,000 per month.

Tax has been levied at 25 percent on income between Rs 2.2 million and Rs3.2 million annually. Tax has been increased to 25 percent on salary of Rs 267,667 per month. Their income tax has been increased from Rs 28,770 to Rs 35,834 per month.

Tax has been levied at 30 percent on annual income of Rs 3.2 million to Rs 4.1 million. The tax on salary has been increased to 30 percent up to Rs 341,667 per month. The tax of these people has increased from Rs 47,408 to Rs 53,333 per month.

A 35 percent tax will be levied on the annual salary of Rs 4.1 million.

Key highlights of the budget include:

• Approval of 77 new mega projects in the annual development plan.
• A 53% increase in revenue from fiscal sources without raising taxes.
• A record Rs842 billion allocated for development expenditure.
• An increase in the minimum wage from Rs32,000 to Rs37,000.
• A 20-25% increase in salaries and a 15% increase in pensions.
• A historic increase of one billion rupees in the Minority Development Fund.
• Allocation of 26 billion rupees for agricultural implements, 10 billion for the Kisan Card, and 30 billion for the CM Green Tractor Program.
• Two billion rupees each for the livestock card and Himmat and Nighaban cards.
• Approval of 26 billion rupees for restructuring education.