Overview
- Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif held a high-level consultative meeting with leading industrialists on Wednesday, June 3, and told them the upcoming FY2026-27 budget will include measures aimed at easing household costs.
- Senior ministers and PPP leaders agreed to recommend presenting the federal budget on Wednesday, June 10, after a series of pre-budget talks to build coalition consensus.
- Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb said the government plans to avoid fresh broad-based taxes by strengthening enforcement and widening the tax net, though analysts warn IMF targets may still force revenue-raising steps such as changes to GST or the petroleum development levy.
- Officials briefed businesses on planned reforms to speed tax dispute resolution and on major logistics and CPEC-linked projects — including M-10 and M-13 motorways, the Pipri freight corridor, and ML-1/ML-2 rail upgrades — that are being pitched as tools to boost exports.
- Private-sector groups welcomed the consultations but voiced distrust of a tax-heavy approach and pressed for cheaper energy, tax relief for industry and clearer, predictable policy because budget choices will directly affect exporters, manufacturers and household living costs.