The business community and traders representative bodies across the country reacted to Pakistan budget 2024-25 with a total outlay of over Rs 18 trillion presented on Tuesday.

All Pakistan Anjuman-e-Tajran, and chambers of commerce of different major cities including Karachi, Faisalabad, Sialkot and Rawalpindi rejected the budget and termed it anti-traders.

Ajmal Baloch, the President of All Pakistan Anjuman-e-Tajran, said that the government has increased taxes by 45 percent and imposed an 18 percent sales tax on mobile phones, which he said a draconian measure.

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Ajmal Baloch said in the budget, the government has not announced any measures to reduce its ‘unnecessary’ expenditures. The All Pakistan Anjuman-e-Tajran president also criticised the imposition of an 18 percent sales tax on leather goods, saying it will lead to a significant increase in shoe prices.

Earlier in the day, Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb presented Pakistan’s budget for the fiscal year 2024-25 with a total outlay of over Rs18 trillion amid protest by the opposition lawmakers belonging to Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI)-backed Sunni Ittehad Council.

The federal government proposed abolishing sales tax exemptions and concessions on various items including mobile phones, copper, coal, paper, and plastic scrap, ARY News reported.

In his budget speech on the National Assembly floor, Federal Minister for Finance and Revenue Senator Muhammad Aurangzeb proposed a standard sales tax rate of 18 percent on various items.

The government also proposed to increase import duties on luxury cars worth over $50,000. The budget proposal also asked the House to increase the import duty on steel and paper products. The 18 percent sales tax would be applied on mobile phones, copper, coal, paper, and plastic scrap, as per the budget proposals.

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