FPCCI to Unveil Shadow Budget Next Week to Provide a Business-Friendly Economic Roadmap for 2026-27

Karachi: Mr. Atif Ikram Sheikh, President of the Federation of Pakistan Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FPCCI), has announced that it will present its highly-anticipated "Shadow Budget" for the fiscal year 2026-27 next week – consisting of pro-business and pro-growth policy recommendations.

Mr. Atif Ikram Sheikh elaborated that the apex trade body’s alternative fiscal document is designed to provide the federal government with a pragmatic, growth-oriented and business-friendly macroeconomic framework focused on broadening of the tax base rather than inflicting further financial damage on the already compliant, documented and law-abiding business community, as well as, the dire need for the simplification of the taxation system.

Mr. Atif Ikram Sheikh highlighted the urgent necessity for a paradigm shift in the country's economic planning. Our current trajectory of relying on an ever-shrinking pool of compliant taxpayers is unsustainable and actively destructive to industrial growth – and, FPCCI’s Shadow Budget will not just be a critique of the current system; it is a meticulously-researched, alternative fiscal blueprint, he added.

FPCCI Chief maintained that their budgetary proposals will demonstrate how the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) can achieve its revenue targets by bringing the untaxed economy into the net – rather than forcing closures across our manufacturing and export sectors. We should facilitate and incentivize the trade & industry, he added.

Mr. Saquib Fayyaz Magoon, Senior Vice President of FPCCI, elaborated on the structural reforms that the upcoming document will address. The documented business community is currently suffocating under exorbitant corporate taxes; heavy compliance costs and erratic policy shifts that essentially disincentivize the documentation.

Mr. Saquib Fayyaz Magoon stressed that our upcoming budgetary proposals will outline actionable measures to incorporate the much needed reduction and rationalization in the rates of taxation and streamlining of technical, procedural inefficiencies in the system. We intend to provide the Ministry of Finance with a clear strategy to halt capital flight and reverse the current trend of industrial regression through facilitative, consultative and pro-growth macroeconomic policies, he added.

Mr. Abdul Mohamin Khan, Vice President and Regional Chairman Sindh, FPCCI, underscored the critical importance of the Shadow Budget from a regional and competitive standpoint. Industries operating in Sindh – including the commercial hub of Karachi – are grappling with unprecedented costs of doing business exacerbated by a crushing tax burden, he maintained.

Mr. Abdul Mohamin Khan pointed out that unbearably high taxation rates leave our documented industries at a severe, unfair disadvantage. Our Shadow Budget will provide a concrete framework to create a competitve, fair business environemnt – and, we strongly urge the government to adopt FPCCI’s proposals before finalizing their taxation measures, he added.

FPCCI leadership has unanimously reiterated that any attempt by the government to bridge its revenue shortfalls by penalizing existing filers in the upcoming budget will be firmly rejected by the business community – cautioning that such measures will guarantee further economic contraction; reduced export competitiveness, and widespread unemployment.

Brig Iftikhar Opel, SI (M), Retd.

Secretary General