ISLAMABAD: Minister of State for Revenue Hammad Azhar hoped that Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) will achieve the tax revenue targets set by Rs 5400 billion for Fiscal Year 2018-19. At least Rs 1946 billion were set aside for paying interest on loans.
Talking with Customs Today he said the circular debt rose from Rs400 billion to Rs1400 billion during tenure of last government and the losses of public sector enterprises increased threefold to Rs 1200 billion.
The minister said the government had to retire $9 billion of Paris debt and state gas companies losses of Rs157 billion. The minister said the economy inherited by the government was not that of Sweden or Switzerland as the current account deficit and budget deficits were high. In the sixth budget which the PML-N government should not have presented, because in that budget the revenue was overstated, and expenditure was understated.
Hammad said since 1971, the last ten years was a period of lowest growth and highest debt taking as the debt grew from Rs6000 billion to Rs26000 billion, the current account deficit rose from 2.5 percent and subsequently to 7, 12 and 19 percent and the imports grew by 26 percent.
He said the devaluation of rupee against the dollar increased loans by Rs1,333 billion, while similarly due to a devaluation of the dollar during the last year of PMLN government, the debt hiked by Rs1100 billion. He said during the present government’s tenure, loans increased by Rs2.3 trillion but still the external and net borrowing was less than the previous year.
