Tax exemption has been retained on medical surgery equipment including other health and education inputs, Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb said on Friday.

The finance minister said cardiology stents, school books and printing stuff, cardiology surgery and erstwhile Federally Administered Tribal Area (FATA) and Provincially Administered Tribal Areas (PATAs) tax exemptions were retained.

“We all need pure milk for the good health of the people, but tax exemption cannot be given on packed milk which is not according to the health standard,” he said while participating in the budget 2024-25 discussion in the National Assembly.

Aurangzeb said that the tax exemption for education and health was given in very difficult economic conditions. Teacher research has also been given tax exemption which has also been given in the Finance Bill 2024-25, he added.

Tax exemption has also been made in the agriculture and fertiliser sectors to provide relief, he said.

Aurangzeb said: “We need to increase tax to Gross Domestic Production (GDP) to 13%, which currently stands at 9.5%. If the country wants to move towards self-reliance and go to the last programme of the International Monetary Fund then revenue collection needs to be enhanced.”

The minister said that the government was committed to reconstructing and digitising the Federal Board of Revenue to increase tax to GDP to 13 per cent.

Aurangzeb added that tax evasion would be stopped and the tax net would be increased for retailers and the real estate sector in the country.

Earlier, the government proposed a 10 per cent tax on colours in sets; inks for writing, drawing, and marking; erasers; pencil sharpeners; other drawings, marking out or mathematical calculating instruments (geometry box); pens, ball pens, markers and porous tipped pens; and pencils including colour pencils.