Islamabad: The International Monetary Fund (IMF)’s visiting mission, and the Senate and National Assembly’s Standing Committees on finance have completed the second review of the USD 6 billion bailout programme — with both sides agreeing to not introduce the mini-budget or raise taxes during this fiscal year (2019-20), according to news sources.
The talks between the IMF mission and Pakistani authorities will continue today, with the previous meeting expressing concerns over the massive revenue shortfall. According to sources, the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) has proposed an amount of PKR 4.7 trillion as the maximum that can be collected this fiscal year; whereas the IMF is insistent on targeting an amount of PKR 4.9 trillion instead.
Furthermore,
the IMF has asked Pakistan to decrease import tariffs, promote General Sales
Tax (GST) harmonisation, take responsibility for underfunded Sustainable
Development Goals (SDGs), and encourage free-trade agreements. The officials
reported that IMF estimated that SDGs would eventually cost PKR 6.196 trillion by
2030, and expressed a wish to create additional fiscal space as a result.
Hazafa reveres the art of writing and has been turned into a property enthusiast by profession. Her daily survival kit includes; tea, coffee, keyboard and paperbacks.
