deally, a budget should be representative of a society’s priorities for development, wellbeing, and sustainability. However, in developing countries like Pakistan a budget can also become an instrument of exploitation and deprivation. Government budgets should benefit from analysis and evaluation by independent experts. When there is a perception that budgets are being framed by insincere leaders, it fuels unrest and mistrust among the citizens.

For the common man, the main setbacks from the 2024 budget include the challenging tax revenue target of Rs 13 trillion, which represents a 40 percent increase in taxes over the last year. The more educated citizens realise that this has further repercussions on inflationary pressures, return on investments and the cost of accessing basic needs such as health, education and housing. The biggest setback of all is that amidst rising poverty and population explosion, the budget does not address redistribution of income to achieve equality or address the needs of the impoverished. The taxes are being levied on the poor and the middle-income classes as the rich remain protected.

Frequent budget failures over many years have led to hopelessness and frustration in the people who have no choice but to pay high taxes, without any expectation of social security and provision of public goods by the government. The lack of transparency, efficiency and accountability of the governments and leaders of the country is reflected in the budget, building scepticism and doubt for the future of Pakistan and the kind of life forthcoming generations will have here. The fear and insecurity are evident in the high number of visa applications by the youth.

Pakistan’s people have been waiting for budgets to be planned through a social budgeting approach, where (i) the marginalised groups in the society are prioritised, particularly the elderly, women, children, ethnic and religious minorities and the internally displaced people; and (ii) the focus is on social development through public spending on education and skill development, healthcare, public transport and informal sector security coverage.

There is a palpable sense of fatigue among the youth and adults alike. People have little faith that budgets are responsive to the needs of the common citizens or the marginalised groups of the society.

There is great fear among the masses and analysts alike of the possibility of more taxes and inflationary shocks that may further engulf them in case of a pandemic, natural disaster, economic crisis or political instability. Sociological theory warns that normative conformity and tax compliance are possible when governance is perceived as fair and efficient. Thus, there is additional fear that some sections of the society may develop means of deviance and tax evasion that will only aggravate economic conditions and the tax burden on complying members of the society. Tax evasion by businessmen and the elite is building weariness and disunity in the Pakistani society; the dilemma of compliance versus evasion in the middle- and lower-income classes will only exacerbate problems of social solidarity and nation-building.

There is little mention of the fact that beyond short term adjustments budgets have a long-term impact on a society’s wellbeing. A society benefits through a well-planned and fair budget when the principles of ‘ability-to-pay’ taxes and the ‘need-to receive’ public services are upheld. The crux of the matter is that the latest budget has weighed down the common Pakistani by burdening them with taxes they do not earn enough to pay and has deprived them of social services to buffer them through these trying times. Having addressed some of the impacts on society ranging from hopelessness, frustration, tax evasion and migration, it is important to conclude with the dire possibilities the nation must prepare for. It is not unknown for budgets seen as unfair to be followed by a rise in deviant behaviours such as drug offences, street and organised crime, abandonment of family and dependents, suicide ideation and mental health issues.

Budgets lacking a ‘social’ element and allocations for greater equality and distributive justice tend to push a country towards a major social welfare deficit, where greater investments will be needed in the future to support the social crisis, including but not limited to, requiring even greater funds for poverty alleviation, healthcare access for the poor and welfare schemes for rehabilitation and recovery.

The writer is an associate professor and chair of the Department of Sociology at the Forman Christian College, Lahore