Muhammad Aurangzeb, the Federal Minister of Finance, acknowledged that the International Monetary Fund (IMF) had lost credibility and trust because of the rhetorical practice dilemma, but he also announced that the Fund staff would be traveling to Pakistan starting next week to conduct an evaluation of the $7 billion Extended Fund Facility (EFF) program.
The federal minister also disclosed that the Fund had been incorporated prior to the announcement of the “Bijli Sahulat” package, which is a power relief program.
The Finance Minister participated in a session called “Economic Stabilization and the Journey to Growth” at the 10th Islamabad Literature Festival, where he and Dr. Vaqar Ahmed had a conversation.
While claiming there were no pushbacks or tweets, the minister also revealed that the government had collected Rs 10 billion in taxes in the first quarter and had surpassed the IMF objective for bringing dealers and shopkeepers into the tax system.
The minister also stated that since PIA could not be kept, the government will seek to privatize it once more.
He declared that by the end of 2024, legislation pertaining to agricultural taxes will be finished.
The minister said that the industrial sector and the salaried class were among those who were overburdened by taxes and that the retail, real estate, and agricultural sectors needed to pay more in order to support the economy.
He also stated that the current tax to GDP ratio of 9–10% is unsustainable and that it would be raised to 13–13.5 percent.
