WASHINGTON - Finance Minister, Muhammad Aurangzeb has once again cautioned that difficult economic decisions are necessary for improvement and widening of tax net with announcing restrictions on property and vehicle purchases for non-tax filers.
“There is a need for legal coverage regarding non-filers, and Pakistan is moving to eliminate the non-filer category altogether,” said the finance minister at a press conference here yesterday.
“We are abolishing the term of non-filer. The non-filers will not be able to buy cars and properties and we will need a legal cover for that purpose,” he said. He pointed to steady progress towards macroeconomic stability, mentioning that all major rating agencies have positively noted Pakistan’s economic direction.
The finance minister is currently in United States where he held a series of meetings with the leaders from several international finance institutions and authorities including rating agencies, multinational banks, WB, IMF and the Asian Development Bank (ADB). Aurangzeb added that discussions with the IMF were constructive, expressing hope that this would be Pakistan’s final IMF programme. He also noted that the World Bank intends to offer grants rather than loans.
He said they had been working continuously for six months for economic improvement and bringing reforms in the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) was a step in the same direction. He said the tax-to-GDP ratio would be brought from 9 per cent to 13 per cent.
Aurangzeb met with IMF and World Bank representatives in the US and held talks with finance ministers from Saudi Arabia and other nations. He also reported growing interest among the American business community in investing in Pakistan.
He also said the country’ foreign exchange reserves had crossed $11 billion mark.
Aurangzeb said the IT and agriculture sectors held the status of game changer for the country’s development, therefore, we would have to boost its export.
On privatisation, he said three electricity distribution companies would be privatised in the first phase.