ISLAMABAD: Federal Information Minister Attaullah Tarar has said that individuals earning between Rs50,000 and Rs100,000 per month will be subject to only a 1 per cent income tax under the government’s proposed budget measures.
Addressing a press conference in Islamabad, Tarar discussed tax collection, budget proposals, the IMF programme and the country’s economic outlook, saying the government had made a concerted effort to provide relief to the salaried class.
He explained that individuals earning Rs50,000 or less per month would remain exempt from income tax, while those with monthly salaries ranging from Rs50,000 to Rs100,000 would pay tax at a rate of just 1pc.
The minister said Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif was committed to ensuring that the burden of non-compliant taxpayers was no longer shifted onto honest, tax-paying citizens.
Tarar also highlighted reforms aimed at improving tax collection, including the establishment of new tax tribunals.
He said the prime minister believed sustainable economic improvement would not be possible without enhancing tax collection mechanisms.
Referring to the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR), the minister said digitalization efforts had previously stalled and that weaknesses in the system had hampered efficiency.
He added that, under the prime minister’s directives, customs and income tax officers would no longer be appointed through recommendations or political influence.
The minister said tax enforcement measures were first introduced in the sugar sector, where mill owners had historically underreported production to evade taxes.
He noted that every sugar bag produced by mills is now assigned a barcode, enabling stricter monitoring.
As a result of the enhanced oversight, the government collected Rs60 billion in taxes from sugar mills, he said.
Tarar added that authorities had also conducted raids against tobacco companies as part of efforts to curb the illegal tobacco trade and improve revenue collection.
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