Daily Times

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) Finance Minister Aftab Alam Friday unveiled the provincial budget for the next fiscal year 2024-25, with a total outlay of Rs1.6 trillion.

A special cabinet meeting, held under the chairmanship of KP Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur, approved the budget for the fiscal year 2024-25, as well as the Annual Development Program and the Finance Bill.

The assembly session began following a delay of two hours owing to lack of quorum. Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur is also in attendance.

At the outset of his speech, Finance Minister Aftab Alam said that the PTI-led provincial government has been working tirelessly to develop the province, emphasising that education was the fundamental right and government’s top priority.

He emphasised that investing in children’s future is the best investment, noting that and thousands of new schools have been built and existing ones were upgraded. “New teachers have also been hired to improve education standards”, Alam said.

Highlighting KP government’s efforts to improve healthcare, the minister noted that they provided Sehat Card scheme to the public for free treatment. “76 hospitals have been upgraded to provide better healthcare facilities”, he added.

Aftab Alam acknowledged that peace and security are the biggest issues in the province, and concrete steps have been taken to address these issues. “The Police Act has been enforced, making KP Police autonomous and professional”.

He said the government also increased its own revenue in recent years, but the federal government still owes the province Rs1800 billion, which has not been released yet.

Speaking of the KP budget 2024-25, the minister said it was prepared in consultation with the business community, with a focus on increasing revenue through taxation rather than relying on federal funds.

He announced plans to introduce a fixed sales tax on marriage halls, while reducing the commercial property tax from 16 per cent to 10pc.

The minister also proposed reducing the property tax on industrial units from Rs2.5 per square foot to Rs10,000 per kanal. He also proposed reducing the tax on land transfer from 6.5pc to 3.5pc.

Alam noted that the public will receive a 3pc tax relief on land transfer, and the purchase and sale of stamp papers will be made easier.

The minister highlighted that 80pc of the country’s tobacco is produced in KP, and the government is working to increase revenue from this sector. He said that the government set a target to collect Rs93.50 billion under revenue mobilisation plan.