‘Within limits’: Govt defends modest salaried class relief in budget 2025-26

Federal Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb on Wednesday defended the government’s limited relief to the salaried class in the newly unveiled budget for fiscal year 2025-26.

Addressing a post-budget press conference in Islamabad, the finance minister said that while he and Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif were keen to provide maximum relief to the salaried class, “we can only go further according to our capacity.”

Aurangzeb acknowledged the increasing burden on the salaried class and said it had been divided into income slabs, with heavier taxes on higher earners. “We must walk within our financial limits. The direction has been set — it is towards relief — but the pace depends on capacity,” he said.

Outlining the government’s economic vision, the finance minister said that the budget focuses on bolstering an export-oriented economy. He revealed that customs duties had been completely abolished on more than 4,000 out of 7,000 tariff lines, while a further 2,700 tariff lines saw reduced duties — 2,000 of which were directly linked to raw materials.

“These reforms are unprecedented in the last 30 years,” Aurangzeb said. “They aim to improve industrial competitiveness, reduce the cost of doing business, and boost exports.”

The government, he added, plans to reduce the overall tariff structure by four per cent in the coming years. “This is a key part of our structural reform agenda,” he said.