No new taxes are being imposed in this budget, just like in the previous two budgets.
Punjab Finance Minister Mujtaba Shuja-ur-Rehman has said that the provincial government will present its third budget on June 16, adding that no new taxes are being imposed in this budget, just as was the case with the previous two budgets.
Mujtaba Shuja-ur-Rehman said that, on the instructions of Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz, the budget is being prepared in line with public needs. He said that investment in industrial infrastructure will be made in the upcoming fiscal year’s budget, while providing employment opportunities remains the government’s top priority. He added that, for the first time in Punjab’s history, all stakeholders were given an opportunity to present their issues and suggestions.
He further stated that, for the first time, a government has formally initiated work on all announced projects and completed a number of them.
The Punjab finance minister said that under the Apni Chhat Apna Ghar program, 133,990 housing loans have been issued so far. He added that the scope of the Suthra Punjab program has been expanded from cities to rural areas at both district and tehsil levels. He noted that Rs106 billion had been allocated for the program last year, while Rs99.41 billion has been released during the current fiscal year.
He also remarked that the previous financial year was not easy for either the federal or provincial governments.
He said that Punjab faced the worst floods of the century, affecting 27 districts. For the first time, a provincial government ensured the rehabilitation of flood victims through its own resources without federal assistance and distributed nearly Rs50 billion in relief. He further stated that, in order to ease the financial difficulties arising from tensions between United States and Iran, government fuel expenditures were reduced by up to 50 percent.
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