Finance Minister Proposes Surcharge Reduction to Combat Brain Drain

During his Budget 2025-26 address, Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb suggested a 1% decrease in the surcharge applied to individuals with annual incomes exceeding Rs10 million. This measure aims to mitigate the emigration of both skilled and unskilled workers.

The existing 10% surcharge is slated to be reduced to 9%, acknowledging the detrimental impact of Pakistani workers leaving the country on the national economy.

In 2024, the Bureau of Emigration & Overseas Employment (BE&OE) and the Overseas Employment Corporation (OEC) documented 727,381 workers seeking employment abroad, according to the Economic Survey 2024-25 presented by Aurangzeb on Monday.

BE&OE data indicates that over 62 percent (452,562) of Pakistani workers migrated to Saudi Arabia for job opportunities, followed by Oman (11 percent). The UAE engaged 64,130 Pakistani workers (9 percent), while Qatar provided employment to 40,818 individuals (6 percent). Bahrain and Malaysia accommodated 25,198 workers (3 percent) and 5,790 workers (1 percent), respectively.

In the year 2024, Punjab accounted for the highest number of workers departing Pakistan for overseas employment (404,345), succeeded by Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (187,103), Sindh (60,424), and the Tribal areas (29,937).

The outflow of skilled workers poses an increasing challenge for developing nations such as Pakistan. This phenomenon occurs as individuals are drawn to developed countries due to factors like enhanced remuneration, entry to advanced technology, superior living conditions, and more politically stable environments.