President Asif Ali Zardari on Sunday gave assent to the government’s tax-heavy Finance Bill 2024 for the new fiscal year.
The government's heavily taxed Finance Bill 2024 was approved by President Asif Ali Zardari on Sunday for the upcoming fiscal year.
Two weeks prior, the government unveiled the budget, which was met with harsh condemnation from both coalition allies PPP and opposition parties, particularly the PTI.
The finance bill was moved by Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb into parliament, where it was available for discussion and amendment by the opposition and the ruling coalition led by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif.
The budget was rejected by opposition parties, primarily lawmakers supported by the incarcerated former prime minister Imran Khan, who claimed it would have a significant inflationary effect.
The PPP, which had earlier chosen to abstain from the budget debate, declared earlier this week that it would support the financial measure in spite of some concerns.
The National Assembly approved the budget on Friday after making certain changes. Animated comments from the opposition preceded the motion, accusing the budget of being anti-people, anti-industry, anti-agriculture, and unrealistic.
According to the President House's media wing, President Zardari ratified the measure today in compliance with Article 75 of the Constitution. The bill will take effect on July 1 (tomorrow).
The finance bill, which the Constitution considers to be a money measure, cannot be rejected or objected to by the president under Article 75 (1).
According to the President House's media wing, President Zardari ratified the measure today in compliance with Article 75 of the Constitution. The bill will take effect on July 1 (tomorrow).
The finance bill, which the Constitution considers to be a money measure, cannot be rejected or objected to by the president under Article 75 (1).
"The President shall, within [ten] days of a Bill being presented to him for assent,—(a) assent to the Bill; or, in the case of a Bill other than a Money Bill, return the Bill to the Majlis-e-Shoora (Parliament) with a message requesting that the Bill or any specified provision thereof, be reconsidered and that any amendment specified in the message be considered," according to the article.
Amendments amid criticism
On Friday, the administration announced new tax measures in multiple areas and extended exemptions in certain sectors to satisfy the requirements of the International Monetary Fund by raising additional income in the upcoming fiscal year.
Opposition MPs, mostly from the PTI, attacked the budget during the NA session, claiming it was now well known that the International Monetary Fund (IMF) had influenced it. Omar Ayub Khan, the leader of the opposition, has called the budget "economic terrorism against the people."
Changes include raising the Petroleum Development Levy (PDL) on gasoline and diesel by Rs. 10 instead of the originally planned Rs. 20, enacting new tax laws on builders and developers, and instituting a capital value tax on real estate in Islamabad.
53 additional grant requests for various ministries and divisions for the fiscal year 2022–2023 and 25 requests for the fiscal year 2023–2024 were authorized by the House. To offset the surplus spending of different ministries and divisions for 2022–2023—26 demands were also approved.
By a majority vote, the NA had also accepted an amendment to the Finance Bill 2024 that increased the benefits and privileges of legislators.
The travel allowance of MNAs has been raised to Rs25/km from Rs10/km under the amendment. It has been announced that members' unused airline tickets would not be canceled and will instead be good for an additional year.
After an upwardly revised projection of 7.4 percent for the current year, the government has projected a dramatic decline in its fiscal deficit to 5.9 percent of GDP for the new fiscal year.
Additionally, the central bank has issued a warning about potential inflationary consequences from the budget, claiming that slower progress in structural changes to widen the tax base translated into higher revenue.
The travel allowance of MNAs has been raised to Rs25/km from Rs10/km under the amendment. It has been announced that members' unused airline tickets would not be canceled and will instead be good for an additional year.
After an upwardly revised projection of 7.4 percent for the current year, the government has projected a dramatic decline in its fiscal deficit to 5.9 percent of GDP for the new fiscal year.
Additionally, the central bank has issued a warning about potential inflationary consequences from the budget, claiming that slower progress in structural changes to widen the tax base translated into higher revenue.
The upcoming year’s growth target has been set at 3.6pc with inflation projected at 12pc.
