Pakistan declared that all outstanding matters with the International Monetary Fund had been amicably resolved.
This cleared the way for the $7 billion loan to be approved this month. Pakistan is also planning to further tighten its grip around the necks of current taxpayers after backing down against the traders.
If the value of the stated cash balances and income of the current income tax return filers is less than the cost of the new assets, the government has prepared changes to deny them the ability to acquire assets.
The action was done in response to an analysis of data by the newly appointed head of the Federal Board of Revenue about the current population of income tax return filers—less than six million—for the tax year 2024.
It was discovered that only 45,000 of the six million Pakistanis who filed income tax forms reported having a yearly income of more than Rs. 10 million.
Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb stated on Thursday, “Thank God, all issues have been satisfactorily solved with the IMF and this month the IMF panel will give final effect to these issues”.
His remarks put an end to the uncertainty surrounding the $7 billion Extended Fund Facility’s approval, which had been awaiting the final board approval for the previous two months.
A spokesperson for the International Monetary Fund (IMF), Julie Kozack, said on Thursday in Washington that the board will convene on September 25 to deliberate on approving the $7 billion loan package with a three-year duration.
The rollover of the $16 billion in cash deposits and commercial loans, as well as the arrangement of an additional $2 billion in commercial finance, took longer for Pakistan than expected.
