Lahore: Jamaat-e-Islami Pakistan Emir Engineer Hafiz Naeemur Rehman has urged the government to provide substantial relief to the salaried and middle-class segments in the upcoming federal budget, arguing that excessive taxation and rising living costs have made life increasingly difficult for ordinary citizens.

In a post on X, Hafiz Naeemur Rehman said the government had collected Rs605 billion in income tax from the middle-class salaried sector, despite the fact that this segment of society was already under severe financial pressure. He said families were struggling with rising education expenses, heavy electricity and gas bills, expensive fuel, additional levies, taxes on essential food items, healthcare costs, and soaring inflation. According to him, government policies and economic measures had made life extremely difficult for the middle class.

Calling for immediate relief measures in the budget, the JI chief demanded the complete abolition of income tax on monthly salaries of up to Rs125,000. He fur
ther proposed that income tax rates for higher salary brackets be reduced by at least half. Hafiz Naeemur Rehman also called for reducing the maximum income tax rate from 35 percent to 15 percent, arguing that the existing tax structure was placing an unfair burden on salaried individuals and professionals.

He warned that the country’s worst tax system was forcing skilled professionals and experts to leave Pakistan at an increasing pace. Describing the trend as alarming, he said the growing exodus of talent posed a serious threat to the country’s future.

The JI leader urged the government to introduce meaningful tax reforms and provide relief to the salaried class in the upcoming budget to ease the economic hardships faced by millions of Pakistanis.