Salaried Class Forced to Pay Extra Rs. 100 Billion Income Tax in 7 Months

The salaried class paid Rs. 285 billion or Rs. 100 billion more in income tax during the first seven months of the fiscal year due to rising living costs and no social benefits. The upcoming budget may shift some of this burden to other sectors, according to Minister of State for Finance Ali Pervaiz Malik. The government imposed an additional Rs. 75 billion tax burden on salaried individuals last year to woo the International Monetary Fund. However, collections have already exceeded that amount. Non-corporate sector employees contributed Rs. 122 billion, corporate sector employees paid Rs. 86 billion, provincial government employees paid Rs. 48 billion, and federal government employees paid Rs. 29 billion. Also, the government continues to struggle with tax collection from wholesalers and traders, relying on at-source tax deductions from non-registered businesses as a measure of success. Meanwhile, the National Assembly delayed banning bank transactions by ineligible persons to support the real estate sector.