ISLAMABAD: The federal government unveiled the “toughest” federal budget for the next fiscal year 2022-23 in the National Assembly with an outlay of Rs9.5 trillion amid strict conditions of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for the revival of the $6 billion loan programme stalled since months over policy breaches.
Federal Minister for Finance and Revenue Miftah Ismail, while presenting the budget proposals, berated the “incompetent” PTI-led government for its poor performance, saying that the current budget focuses on “sustainable and inclusive growth.”
The finance minister said that due to the “incompetency” of the PTI-led government, Pakistan has been facing the issue of skyrocketing inflation.
The minister said the government had to move towards “sustainable growth”, adding that the growth target for next year was set at 5%.
“The problem of our economy is that growth is 3-4%, but when it moves up to 5-6%, our current account deficit goes out of control, because we prioritise the elite and increase our imports to facilitate them. We need to adopt a new outlook focused on alleviating the lower-income sections of society to increase domestic production,” the minister said.
Addressing the Speaker of the National Assembly Raja Pervez Ashraf, Miftah assured that the new coalition government will pull Pakistan out of the economic crisis: “We have done it before, we can do it, we will do it.”
Miftah further added that in the next fiscal year, the country has to improve the economic conditions of the poor by providing them with facilities.
“When the income of the poor people increases, they purchase consumer goods which are produced locally. And this, in turn, reduces the exports and initiates the development process. We can achieve inclusive growth by taking the above-mentioned steps,” he said.
The finance minister further highlighted that Pakistan has become the third-most-expensive country due to the incompetency of the PTI-led government.
Shedding light on the budget philosophy of the coalition government, the finance minister said: “We will increase the agricultural production to increase arable produce and increase per acre yield while also focussing on the development of industries which can help increase the exports of the country.”
“Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif wants to provide maximum relief to the people of the country, particularly those who are unable to bear the burden of rising inflation,” he said, revealing that for this purpose, the government has taken several decisions to provide subsidies.
Miftah, while sharing the details of the federal budget for the next fiscal year 2022-23, revealed that the Federal Board of Revenue’s (FBR) target for the next fiscal year was 9% — Rs7,400 billion — while the provinces will be asked to collect Rs4,100 billion.
The federal government’s net revenue is projected to be Rs 4,904 billion, non-tax revenue will be Rs2,000 billion, and the expenditure is expected to be around Rs9,502 billion for the next fiscal year, Miftah said.
Pakistan will also spend Rs3,950 for debt servicing, the finance minister told the house, adding that the tax imposed on non-filers has been proposed to be hiked from 100% to 200%.
The total expenditure for interest payments during the current fiscal year has been estimated at Rs3,144 billion — including Rs2,770 domestic and Rs373 international — while for the next year, it will climb to Rs3,950.
