Atif Ikram Sheikh, President of the Federation of Pakistan Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FPCCI), stressed that FPCCI’s comprehensive Shadow Budget for the fiscal year 2026-27 represents the collective wisdom of Pakistan’s business, industry, and trade community.
Atif Ikram Sheikh highlighted that FPCCI strongly urged the federal government to incorporate its policy recommendations to ensure that the upcoming budget is fundamentally driven by the objective of economic growth, rather than the customary emphasis on revenue growth and stabilization.
He maintained that adopting a growth-centric approach is the only viable path to mitigating Pakistan’s macroeconomic challenges, reducing the widening trade deficit, and providing much-needed relief to the industrial sector, which is currently burdened by surging energy costs and high interest rates.
The FPCCI chief explained that broadening the tax base remains the most critical structural reform required to move Pakistan away from its chronic reliance on inflationary indirect taxes and the over-taxation of existing corporate sectors. He added that a sustainable expansion of the tax net must go beyond coercive enforcement against already registered taxpayers and instead focus on bringing new taxpayers into the formal economy through digitization, data integration, and targeted incentives.
He pointed out that the total tax burden on industrialists reaches up to 65% when all types of taxes are taken into account, which should be reduced to the range of 35% to 40% in the Federal Budget 2026-27. He stated that this reduction is necessary to enable Pakistan’s industries to compete in international markets and to contribute more effectively to national economic growth and export earnings.
Saquib Fayyaz Magoon, Senior Vice President of FPCCI, elaborated that by leveraging advanced data analytics to identify high-income non-filers and by simplifying compliance procedures for small and medium enterprises (SMEs), the government can distribute the fiscal burden more equitably.
Magoon further highlighted that the federal budget must shift its focus from aggressive revenue collection to facilitating broad-based economic revival. He stated that sustainable growth requires a modern approach, particularly through strategic national investment in emerging technologies, including Artificial Intelligence, as well as the widespread rollout of 5G technology to enhance the global competitiveness of Pakistani industries.
Abdul Mohamin Khan, Vice President and Regional Chairman Sindh, FPCCI, pointed out that regional industries are facing unprecedented liquidity constraints. He expressed that the high-interest-rate environment is severely restricting the operational capacity of businesses across the province. He urged the Ministry of Finance to incorporate FPCCI’s recommendations, which outline actionable steps to reduce manufacturing costs and create a genuinely business-friendly environment capable of spurring industrialization and job creation across Sindh and the rest of the country.
The FPCCI leadership unanimously concluded that the proposals outlined in the Shadow Budget offer a pragmatic, industry-backed roadmap. They warned that ignoring these stakeholder-driven recommendations in the finalized Federal Budget could risk further economic stagnation and industrial closures.