Due to Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s June 4–8 travel to Beijing, the budget presentation that was scheduled for June 7 was postponed, according to sources.
At President Xi Jinping’s invitation, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif will visit China from June 4 to 8, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MoFA) announced on Friday.
The prime minister will go to three cities: Beijing, Xi’an, and Shenzhen. This information was disclosed by Foreign Office spokesman Mumtaz Zahra Baloch during her weekly news briefing.
Shehbaz Sharif would see President Xi Jinping and have talks with Premier Li Qiang at the level of a delegation in Beijing, she said.
He will also hold meetings with Chairman of Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress Zhao Leji and heads of key government departments.
Moreover, inflation is likely to increase in the 2024-25 federal budget as the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has ‘asked’ Pakistan to reduce sales exemptions further.
Information reveals that the costs of milk, tea, sugar, rice, flour, and packaged milk are probably going to go up in the budget for 2024–2025 since Islamabad has been asked by an overseas lender to lessen the sales tax exemptions for new loans.
According to the sources, pressure is being applied to terminate tax exemptions in FATA and PATA by June 30. The IMF has urged that a 5–10% sales tax be imposed on the zero-rated sales tax sector.
Read more:IMF Demands Hit Pakistan Development Budget
Budget plans for FY2024–2025 indicate that Pakistan is expected to gradually remove income tax and sales tax exemptions.