PPP rejects 18% tax on solar panels

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Peoples Party Parliamentarians spokesperson Shazia Marri has criticised the imposition of 18 per cent tax on solar panels and called it a regressive move that would further burden the already-struggling public.

She said solar energy has become the only viable alternative for citizens grappling with high electricity costs, but even that option is now being taken away.“We reject 18% tax on solar panels. It was the only way for the public to escape expensive electricity, and now that too is being made unaffordable,” she said in a statement, reacting to the federal budget 2025-26. She also dismissed proposed increases in salaries and pensions as insufficient, saying that they failed to match the ongoing rise in the cost of living. She particularly criticised the meager allocation for the Hyderabad-Karachi Motorway, noting that only Rs15 billion were earmarked for a project estimated to cost Rs400 billion. “It is nothing less than a joke,” she remarked.

Highlighting the impact of rising prices and unemployment, she said inflation and unemployment have made life extremely difficult for ordinary Pakistanis, and the new budget has offered no meaningful relief. She warned that additional taxes on petroleum products would likely lead to even higher inflation, pushing more essential items beyond the reach of the common man.