PM Shehbaz Sharif’s China Visit Delays Budget Inflation Looms in FY2024-25

The budget was originally due to be presented on June 7 but was delayed because Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif visited Beijing from June 4 to June 8, said sources.

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif will visit China from June 4 to 8 at the invitation of President Xi Jinping, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MoFA) said on Friday.

During the three-segment trip, the prime minister will visit the cities of Xi’an and Shenzhen, besides Beijing, the Foreign Office spokesperson Mumtaz Zahra Baloch announced at her weekly press briefing.

She said that Shehbaz Sharif would meet President Xi Jinping and hold delegation-level talks with Premier Li Qiang in Beijing.

He will also hold meetings with the Chairman of the 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.

As per details, the prices of milk, tea, sugar, rice, flour, and packed milk are likely to increase in the budget 2024-25 as the international lender has asked Islamabad further to reduce the sales tax exemptions for fresh loans.

The IMF has demanded imposing a 5-10% sales tax on the zero-rated sales tax sector, the sources said, and added that pressure is being asserted to end tax exemptions in FATA and PATA by June 30.

According to budget proposals for the FY2024-25, Pakistan is likely to end exemption on sales and income tax, phase-wise.