Federal cabinet approves recommendations for mini budget

ISLAMABAD: The federal cabinet on Tuesday gave approval for the mini budget.

Prime Minister Imran Khan chaired a special cabinet meeting during which Finance Minister Asad Umar, finance secretary and other officials briefed the members on recommendations for the mini budget.

Sources said reforms in the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) and the income tax exemption slabs during the previous government were discussed during the meeting.

Recommendations were presented for levying taxes, including super tax, worth Rs158 billion and reducing the development budget by Rs450 billion, sources continued.

PM Imran directed the cabinet to ensure the common man is not affected by the new taxes, they said.

According to sources, the meeting mulled over the recommendation of bringing budget deficit down to 5% from the current 6.6%.

Besides this, decision was taken to decrease the development budget by Rs725 billion and increase taxes on the banking transaction of non-filers.

Sources also said that the government has decided to decrease its expenditures by Rs608 billion by cutting down on money spent on government institutions, official buildings and ministers.