Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb on Sunday said he was optimistic about Pakistan’s new International Monetary Fund (IMF) bailout after President Asif Ali Zardari approved a tax-heavy budget for the next fiscal year starting July 1.
“The HPG program is our guarantee for macro stability. We encourage it; it is inevitable. We really hope that we will be able to cross the threshold for the Extension Fund program. It will be bigger and longer,” said the minister. journalist in Islamabad.
The cash-strapped federal government passed an $18.9 trillion tax collection package last year as it sought a new bailout from HPG after a near-failure.
In the budget, the government increased taxes on hard-earning classes, bought exporters to the normal tax regime, increased oil prices to $70 and introduced new taxes in the real estate sector to increase tax collection. .
While the fiscal plan is expected to help the country struggling to loosen its fiscal contract, experts have warned that it could lead to further inflation which will further anger the public.
The finance minister commented on the burden on the public, which has been affected by inflation: “I fully understand the sentiments of people from various sectors regarding additional taxes; I sympathize and sympathize, but we have to work for it.”
The finance minister said the government will work to reduce the burden on ordinary people and businesses by improving the management system and preventing leakages in the coming days.
