Khyber Pakhtunkhwa's Finance Minister Taimur Saleem Jhagra on Tuesday presented the province's budget for financial year 2019-20, which has a total outlay of Rs900 billion.

Out of the total outlay, spending on the annual development programme has been suggested to be Rs236bn.

The budget speech was delivered in the KP assembly amidst protests and sloganeering by the opposition against the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf's (PTI) government in the centre for not issuing production orders of PPP chief Asif Ali Zardari.

According to the budget speech, provincial taxes are being increased for the year 2019-20. According to the newly proposed regime, individuals with Rs20,000 to Rs30,000 monthly income will have to pay Rs1,000 per annum.

A tax of Rs1,200 per year has been proposed for those individuals earning between Rs30,000 to Rs50,000 per month.

The individuals falling in the next slab of Rs50,000 to Rs100,000 monthly income will have to pay Rs1,500 per year. Similarly, Rs2,000 per year tax has been proposed for those earning Rs100,000 to Rs200,000. Rs3,000 tax was proposed for the income of Rs200,001 to half a million rupees and Rs5,000 tax for income of more than Rs0.5m.

As far as public sector employees are concerned, the provincial government has proposed zero taxation for grade one to six employees of the provincial government. Rs1,000 in tax per year will be charged from the employees of grade seven to 12, Rs1,500 tax per year will be charged from provincial government employees of grade 13 to 17, Rs1,800 yearly tax for grade 18, Rs2,000 for 19, and Rs3,000 for grade 20 officers.

The government has also proposed to increase the rate of taxation on private companies and businesses.

The 2019-20 budget proposes to impose taxes of Rs27,000 to Rs100,000 per annum on businesses worth Rs10 million to Rs200m, respectively.

Annual tax on marriage halls will be Rs60,000; on restaurants and hotels, Rs40,000. Similarly, dentists will have to pay Rs15,000 per annum, general physicians Rs10,000, and specialists doctors in Peshawar Rs80,000 per year and in areas other than Peshawar, divisional and districts headquarters Rs50,000 per year.

The budget also proposes a tax of Rs30,000 on CNG and other gas stations. Similarly, Rs325 per acre will be charged against land measuring five to 12 acres.

Those tailors who stitch shalwar kameez suits will have to pay Rs10,000 per year, while those who stitch trousers and shirts will have to pay Rs15,000 annually.

According to the new tax recommendations, Rs40,000 tax will be imposed annually on departmental stores, R10,000 on electronics shops, Rs2,000 on tobacco wholesalers, Rs1,500 to Rs3,000 on fitness clubs, Rs8,000 on service stations, and Rs100,000 on private medical and engineering colleges.

The tax on naswar will also be increased by 50 paisas per kilogramme.

The provincial government announced to increase salaries of public sector employees of grade one to 16 by 10 per cent and grade 17 to 19 by 5pc under an ad hoc relief allowance.

The minister announced that the Insaf health card will be provided to each and every family in the province.

The government also announced that it would provide 21,000 jobs in the public sector. The budget document earmarked Rs500m for various youth projects.

Clarification: The tax accruing to professionals based on their income slabs was initially misreported as a monthly income tax, when it is, in fact, a professional tax levied on a per annum basis. The error is deeply regretted and has since been rectified.