Pakistani musician and activist Shehzad Roy expressed gratitude to Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb for exempting books from sales taxes in the federal budget 2024-25.
“Speaking up changes things. It used to be scary to speak, but now it’s scarier not to,” Roy remarked about his advocacy in education and his appeals to government officials.
He further emphasized, “We should all raise our voices.”
Recently, Roy shared that Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif had promised to reconsider the decision to impose a 10% sales tax on books.
Additionally, Roy has called on the government to continue the tax rebate for teachers. On Monday, he posted on Twitter X that he appealed to the Prime Minister and Planning Minister Ahsan Iqbal to restore a 25% tax rebate for teachers.
“They assured me they would review this decision favourably,” Roy noted.
Earlier today, the finance minister announced in the National Assembly that stationery would remain tax-free.
Starting July 1, the PML-N-led federal government has set an ambitious tax revenue target of Rs13 trillion (about $46.66 billion). This marks a nearly 40% increase from the current year and aims to support negotiations for a new IMF bailout.
