NO doubt, ground realities are quite bitter for the common man because of inflationary impact of the governmental policies and initiatives but the way Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb dilated upon the issues involved and expressed optimism about a change for the better offers a ray of hope for people of Pakistan at the end of the otherwise dark tunnel. During his news conference on Sunday, the Minister justified the tough decisions and policies, sparking confidence among people that the Government has a definite vision for economic sovereignty which stands almost compromised because of numerous internal vulnerabilities of the country. His media interaction showed the Minister was fully prepared with relevant facts and figures and has a firm determination to make a difference through sustained policies and their implementation.
It is now a foregone conclusion that the country cannot progress and develop without meaningful mobilization of domestic resources and reduce crippling dependence on foreign loans. In the given scenario, the country finds it difficult to manage its affairs without foreign aid that comes at a price, especially for its people. The situation demands greater realization on the part of all segments of the society to contribute their due share to the cherished objective of increasing tax collection but regrettably, except for salaried people whose income tax is deducted from source, no other section of the society is willing to pay taxes as per its real income or profits. It is because of large-scale tax evasion and electricity/gas theft to the tune of over Rs. 800 billion annually that the country has to knock at the doors of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) every now and then besides spreading begging bowls before some friendly countries to meet its essential expenses, which is really shameful. The country is once again in talks with the IMF for another bailout package in the range of $6 to $8 billion over three years and both Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and the Finance Minister are expressing optimism it would be the last programme of the country. Similar pledges were made in the past as well but these could not materialize due to inability of the successive governments to expand the tax net. However, a beginning towards that end has been made in the budget for 2024-25 and the Minister was confident to raise the tax-to-GDP ratio from the existing 09.5 to 13% over three years. One earnestly hopes this would not be achieved by shifting more burden on the existing tax-payers or on the common man but on those who have been in the habit of only enjoying relief ever since independence at the cost of the poor and the middle-class. In principle, there should be no tax exemptions and in case these have to be given, the objective should be to promote welfare of the down-trodden segments of the society and not to shower benefits on powerful lobbies as we have also witnessed in the new budget. The Minister is also pinning hopes on end-to-end digitization of the FBR to plug leakages and reduce the instance of corruption and let us hope the project helps meet these expectations. All governments have been making tall claims about simplification of tax returns but such efforts ended up in further complicating the process to the disadvantage of the citizens. These need to be simplified in the real sense of the word. The Minister also talked about his own experience of the simplified process of tax collection and refund when he worked in the private sector abroad and hopefully this would be replicated in Pakistan as well. There is not much scope to agree hundred percent with the Finance Minister when he describes PSDP, pensions and so-called ‘redundant’ departments as a burden on the national exchequer. What for you are increasing the tax collection if the money is not to be spent on development, resolution of day-to-day problems of citizens, welfare of senior citizens and public service through ministries and departments. The Government cannot expect to increase tax collection while abdicating its responsibility towards education, health, development and well-being of senior citizens/marginalized sections of the society.
