The government is expected to present a budget of Rs 13 to 15 trillion.
KARACHI (UrduLight.com) The coalition government is expected to propose a budget of Rs 13-15 trillion for the fiscal year 2023-24, driven by a sharp rise in interest rates, according to a budget preview report by Topline Securities. Record-high markups have been declared. Rates
This figure represents a 21 percent increase from the target set for the current fiscal year, which is Rs 9-9.2 trillion.
It is worth noting that if the proposed tax target for FY 2023-24 is fixed, it would be 29 percent higher than the expected tax collection for the outgoing fiscal year, which would generate more revenue for the government. Ambitions will be highlighted. However, the brokerage house said it is a challenging period for the government to present the budget due to stagnation, uncertainty surrounding the upcoming elections, and concerns about closing the funding gap in Pakistan’s external accounts.
The report emphasized that uncertainty surrounding the financing of the US dollar funding gap is causing anxiety in currency, bond and stock markets. In the past, revenue targets have deviated by an average of 8% from actual figures over the past five years, and the report predicts a similar trend in FY 2023-24 due to the economic slowdown.
For the fiscal year 2023-24, the non-tax revenue target is estimated at Rs 2.5 trillion (2.4% of GDP), while the estimate for the current fiscal year was Rs 1.6 trillion (2% of GDP). The report envisages a number of taxation measures, including tax on undistributed reserves, continuation of super tax, shift from final tax system to minimum tax system, asset/wealth tax, higher tax on non-filers, rent Taxes on income, and taxes on banks, tobacco and beverages.
With regard to development expenditure, the Federal Public Sector Development Program (PSDP) is estimated at Rs 0.9 trillion for FY24, but the report indicated the possibility of major cuts due to financial constraints. Aggregate PSDP (federal and provincial) is expected to reach Rs 2.6 trillion (2.5 percent of GDP) in FY24.
