ISLAMABAD (Kashmir English): The government is considering giving tax relief of about Rs 50 billion to the salaried class in the new fiscal year budget. The number of income tax slabs can be increased from 6 to 8.
According to sources, relief is being considered for people with an income of more than Rs 183,000 per month. There are also proposals to relax the tax rate for those with higher incomes.
Under the proposed plan, there is a proposal to reduce income tax by 5 percent on income up to Rs 267,000 per month, after which the tax rate in this slab can be reduced from 25 percent to 20 percent. About 400,000 employees are likely to benefit from this slab.
Sources say that a proposal to impose a 29 percent tax on income up to Rs 467,000 per month, while a 32 percent tax rate on income up to Rs 583,000 is also under consideration, a maximum tax rate of 35 percent is likely to be maintained on monthly incomes above Rs 583,000.
The same rate is proposed to be applied to those earning more than Rs 7 million per year, while the surcharge imposed on those earning more than Rs 10 million per year may be abolished.
Expected Date for Budget
President Asif Ali Zardari on Tuesday summoned the sessions of the National Assembly and Senate on June 10, at 5 pm in the Parliament House, with the budget likely to be presented on June 12.
“The President has summoned the National Assembly session for tomorrow, Wednesday, June 10, 2026, at 5 PM in the Parliament House. The President has summoned the session by exercising the powers conferred under Article 54 Clause 1 of the Constitution,” according to the notification.
This will be the “28th session of the 16th National Assembly”, added the notification. President Zardari also summoned a session of the Senate at 4 pm on June 10, according to a post on social media by the president’s office.
According to officials at the National Assembly Secretariat, both sessions have been called budget sessions for 2026–27; however, it is expected that the budget will be presented in Parliament on June 12.
It has been learnt that the sessions were convened for the budget and to line up members before its presentation.
Under Article 63, a Member of the National Assembly (MNA) could be disqualified if he abstains from voting on the budget as per party policy.
Earlier in the day, Minister for Parliamentary Affairs, Tariq Fazal Chaudhry, said that the budget for the next fiscal year (FY2026-27) would likely be presented in the parliament on Friday (June 12).
He stated this on X, further stating that summaries to convene budget sessions of the National Assembly and Senate had been sent to the presidency for approval.
Before Chaudhry’s statement, uncertainty had surrounded the date for the budget’s presentation as the federal government, its coalition partners, and provincial governments struggled to reach a consensus over the Centre’s demand for more than Rs1 trillion for strategic needs.
The meeting of the National Economic Council was postponed for the third time on Monday at the last moment amid continuing negotiations to reach a consensus over issues like freezing of provincial shares in the federal divisible pool under the NFC Award.
The Centre had told provinces that their financial shares under the NFC for the current year would not be increased next year and that any amount above the current year’s share would have to be returned to the Centre.
The provinces had protested the demand as it would push provincial budgets into deficit and make it difficult for them to run their governments. The federal government had suggested that provinces could freeze salaries and limit development schemes.
