ISLAMABAD - The National Assembly’s Standing Committee on Finance Revenue and Economic Affairs has called an important meeting on Wednesday to discuss the economic situation of the country including tax collection and also the recent reports of the State Bank of Pakistan and International Monetary Fund (IMF), which revealed that fiscal deficit could go beyond the target rate.
The top officials of the Finance Ministry, State Bank of Pakistan, and Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) would brief the economic situation, tax collection, State Bank of Pakistan and International Monetary Fund (IMF) to the National Assembly Standing Committee on   Finance Revenue and Economic Affairs on Wednesday.
Sources in FBR told The Nation that they would brief the NA body regarding so far tax collection made by the tax department and also the future strategy in order to meet the revenue collection target of Rs 1,952 billion set for the ongoing financial year 2011-12. The FBR has already collected Rs 973 billion during the first seven months (July-January) of the current fiscal year and it has to collect Rs 979 billion in remaining five months (February-June) to meet the annual target.
Similarly, the National Assembly’s body would also discuss the recent IMF report that projected that Pakistan’s fiscal deficit is likely to reach at seven per cent of the GDP that would be much higher than the government’s revised target of 4.7 per cent for the ongoing financial year 2011-12 due to the absence of corrective measures.
The report also stated that deterioration in the current account balance due to lower cotton/textile prices and a sharp slowdown in remittances growth, continued difficulties in attracting external financing and the beginning of repayments to the IMF will likely put further pressure on the balance of payments this year, with reserves projected at $12.1 billion by end 2011/12.
Meanwhile, the Committee would also detail SBP monetary policy report and economic situation of the country during the first seven months of the ongoing financial year.