What happened
Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) released a 15-page set of budget recommendations for 2026-27 on 6 June 2026, its first formal budget proposals since it was removed from office by a no-confidence vote in 2022, according to Dawn.
The party’s economic think tank called for significant income tax relief for salaried individuals, proposing that the minimum taxable income threshold be raised from Rs600,000 to Rs1.2 million a year, with automatic indexation to inflation. It also recommended rationalising tax slabs for middle-income groups and removing surcharges on higher earners.
On the corporate side, PTI proposed abolishing the super tax and gradually reducing the corporate tax rate to 25 per cent over three years. It suggested eliminating the capital value tax on foreign assets and restoring incentives for mutual funds. To ease inflation, it recommended a phased reduction in the general sales tax to 15 per cent and capping the petroleum levy at Rs50 per litre, alongside reinstating sales tax exemptions on medicines, milk and agricultural inputs and removing advance taxes on electricity for low-consumption households.
The document also proposed bringing the retail sector into the formal tax regime, revising the turnover threshold for small and medium enterprises from Rs250 million to Rs500 million, and eliminating the advance export tax while extending the final tax regime for information technology exports until 2035.
Beyond revenue, PTI proposed capping the growth of the public-sector wage bill, reforming the pension system through contributory mechanisms and monetising perks such as housing and transport. It estimated that expenditure reforms, including pension restructuring, could generate savings of up to Rs500 billion a year.
Why it matters
The proposals mark a shift from PTI’s earlier stance of non-engagement with the budget process and put the opposition’s fiscal priorities on record before the government presents its own spending plan. The government is preparing a budget for FY2026-27 against the backdrop of an International Monetary Fund programme, after the Annual Plan Coordination Committee approved a framework targeting 4 per cent growth and 8.2 per cent inflation. (See KhabarWire’s coverage of the APCC macroeconomic framework.)
PTI framed its recommendations as a response to a fiscal framework it says has burdened taxpayers without ensuring stability, and coupled the tax relief with calls to expand the tax net rather than raise rates. It also sought universal health insurance, more funding for higher education and energy-sector reforms. Because PTI does not hold the treasury benches, the document is a set of demands rather than government policy; its immediate significance is as an opposition negotiating position and a signal of the party’s re-engagement with economic policy.
Sources & reporting notes
This is a summary of published reporting, not independent reporting. Details are as carried by the cited source, which was reviewed on 2026-06-06.
- Dawn — "BUDGET 2026-27: After years, PTI proposes tax relief, Rs500bn savings via spending cuts"6 June 2026 · Reports the 15-page PTI document, its tax and spending proposals and the Rs500bn savings estimate.
- Pehel — "After years, PTI proposes tax relief, Rs500bn savings via spending cuts"6 June 2026 · Reproduces the Dawn report on the PTI budget proposals.
