KARACHI: Federal Finance Minister Dr Miftah Ismail Friday said the government is trying to impose ad valorem tax on traders, which will provide relief to the small traders.
The Institute of Business Administration (IBA), organized a discussion on “The Current State of Pakistan’s Economy” by the Federal Minister for Finance and Revenue, Dr Miftah Ismail.
The discussion was moderated by the Executive Director IBA, Dr S Akbar Zaidi. The event was attended by IBA faculty, students, guests and people from all walks of life.
Miftah focused on the current macroeconomic challenges and policies and strategies that have been adopted to face these challenges. He highlighted the most pressing issue facing the economy. These included the current account deficit, unsustainable and non-inclusive growth and the policy flaws that hinder the growth potential.
Miftah further pointed out that going to the IMF was a hard political decision, but it was the last resort.
During his presentation, he also criticized some measures taken by previous governments which created challenges for the economy, pushing the country toward the brink of bankruptcy. He justified the IMF programme by stressing that it was only to save Pakistan that harsh measures were undertaken.
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He admitted that the inflation rate was the highest since the last four decades and that his government understands how this has hurt the common man, but is hopeful that things will improve as he foresees electricity prices falling in coming months.
He ended his presentation by talking about the damage in terms of life and infrastructure caused by recent floods. He briefed the audience on how the government was redirecting funds from the Public Sector Development Programme (PSDP) to relief efforts undertaken by the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA).
At the end of the presentation, Dr Ismail highlighted some areas that need immediate attention, including the need for improving agricultural productivity; improving the current account balance by restricting imports and increasing the export base; improving quality of education; and improving economic governance. He further commented that the motto of his government is to “live within our means.”
This was followed by a very lively Q&A session in which faculty and students asked some hard-hitting questions, criticizing the government’s lack of focus on improving human productivity, climate change, and the contradiction in governments’ policies favouring certain sectors, such as real estate.
Dr Ismail thanked IBA for providing an opportunity to present his views on the current state of Pakistan’s economy and noted the importance of such discussions to inform people of the steps taken towards fixing the economy.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2022
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