LAHORE: Lahore Chamber of Commerce and Industry’s Standing Committee on Economic affairs chairman Kashif Anwar has advocated the need for broadening the country’s tax base instead of squeezing existing taxpayers with a view to improve tax-to-GDP ratio.
He said that only political will and drastic steps can revive the economy, which should have grown significantly and constantly for visible impact. Besides governance challenges, adverse security perception, political instability and the foreign trade offices role is also vital for the continuity of enhancement in foreign investment, he concluded.
Kashif Anwar said that despite some increase in foreign investment, the FDI inflows were not sufficient to fully offset the widening in the current account gap. As a result, the country’s liquid foreign exchange reserves declined over $1.7 billion during FY17. According to SBP during the period, portfolio investment witnessed downward trend and declined by 66 percent.
He said that deep reforms and improvements in governance must be carried out to unleash the country’s growth potential. Without substantial improvements in governance and a reduction in corruption, decent economic growth is hard to anticipate.
