THE policy statements given and actions initiated by new Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb have conveyed a clear message to all concerned that he was firm to make a difference as far as implementation of economic plans and producing positive results is concerned. This impression was strengthened when the Minister-led Pakistan team held successful negotiations with the IMF on the second review leading to signing of the staff level agreement (SLA) and paving the way for talks on another medium-term package from the global lender. As part of his plans to diversify sources of funds and ease the financial position of the government further, steps are being taken to realize his commitment of tapping the Chinese bond market to mobilize $300 million.
For the past several years, successive federal budgets became a nightmare for the general public as they added to their tax burden as governments miserably failed to diversify the tax base or plug the loopholes in taxation. However, the new Minister has vowed that in the next budget, taxes would be directed against sectors that are out of the tax net. He has already started implementing plans for end-to-end digitization of the FBR as an agreement has been signed with a firm for the purpose, which would surely enhance the capacity of the department to assess tax liabilities of individuals, businesses and industries besides boosting prospects for plugging leakages worth Rs.3 trillion in the system. The Minister is also sensitive to the issue of providing much-needed relief to the people as well as priority sectors saying that the Government would be able to do so when its resource position improves. In line with the avowed commitment of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif to save expenditure, Aurangzeb is talking in terms of deciding the future of the ministries dissolved or devolved in the past after devolution of powers under the 18th amendment besides privatization of the loss-incurring entities and reforms in others. He has a vision to implement the public sector development programme through public-private partnership as has been successfully demonstrated by the Sindh Government in case of Thar projects. These and a series of other measures that the Minister proposes to initiate have the potential to produce positive results, enabling the Government to pass on relief to inflation-ridden people.
