Pakistan’s government will propose a budget on Friday that hits the middle class and registered businesses as it seeks to raise revenue and ​cut spending while shielding the nation’s poorest. Under pressure to meet austerity conditions from the International Monetary Fund, Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb will submit a delayed ‌17.1-trillion-rupee ($61-billion) spending plan for the fiscal year starting next month, according to widespread domestic media reports. The burden of higher fuel and power costs and taxes will fall largely on formally registered businesses and salaried workers in the South Asian nation, as politically powerful sectors such as agriculture, retail and real estate remain difficult to tax, experts say.

Full report : Pakistan budget, hit by Iran war and IMF, to squeeze middle class.