Budget fallout

The federal government has revealed the budget for the upcoming fiscal year. There are a few aspects of this latest budget which have grabbed the spotlight including greater taxation, increase in salaries and fiscal spending of over Rs18 trillion. The increase in tax rates is particularly important for the salaried class as they will have to bear this burden. Meanwhile, the government’s expectations of a 12 per cent inflation rate in FY2024-25 seem rather optimistic. I believe it will be much higher than that and it might be very difficult for the government to manage inflation, particularly when the increase in spending will be pushing inflation in the opposite direction. As such, the consequences of this budget are unlikely to be favourable to the ordinary people as we might get higher inflation along with more taxes.

Ali Zaib

Sukkur