15/06/2026
Pakistan’s FY2026-27 budget needs Rs 27.6 trillion to function. About Rs 20.6 trillion of that is the government’s own revenue; the other Rs 7 trillion, roughly a quarter, is borrowed.
The revenue side leans on people already in the net: FBR collection is set to climb 17.6% to Rs 15.3 trillion, and income tax alone accounts for almost half of that rise, while indirect taxes still make up just over half of total FBR receipts. Excise and customs grow fastest in percentage terms, but the rupees come mostly from income and sales tax. Non-tax revenue barely moves, though its mix shifts, SBP profit nearly halves, and the petroleum levy plus a large new miscellaneous line fill the gap.
Spending tells a parallel story. Grants and transfers jump 39%, and defence rises 18%, subsidies are the one big head that shrinks, and debt servicing actually dips about 2% against last year’s budget as interest rates ease. What stays fixed is the shape of it: provincial transfers and interest payments alone take 61 paisa of every budgeted rupee, which is why so much of what remains is paid for by the deficit.
