ISLAMABAD – Federal Finance Minister Ishaq Dar has said that the government has completed all the necessary spadework for ninth review of IMF program.
Talking to a delegation of Lahore Chamber of Commerce and Industry led by its president Kashif Anwar on Tuesday, he said that it was not time for blame game but making all out efforts for taking the country forward. LCCI president presented a set of budget proposals to the Federal Finance Minister.
LCCI senior vice president Zafar Mahmood Chaudhry, vice president Adnan Khalid Butt, executive committee members Ibrahim Sheikh, Waseem Yousaf, Mujahid Maqsood Butt, Mian Ateeq ur Rehman and Khalid Mahmood Butt were accompanying the president.
Ishaq Dar reiterated his government commitment of making all efforts for bringing the economy back on track. He said that all segments of the society would have to join hands to help the government come out of this difficult situation. He said that the upcoming budget would be business friendly.
“For the last few months, people are talking about default. Almighty Allah has saved the country. Timely payments of external debt is our priority”, he said while referring to the rumors of default.
Kashif Anwar suggested adopting mechanism like trade in local currency and barter trade for overcoming foreign exchange crisis. He suggested introduction of declaration scheme for documentation of undeclared foreign and local assets. “It will help injecting liquidity in the economy”, he said. He also demanding downward revision of interest rate and bringing it at par with the regional countries like China, India and Bangladesh.
He also urged the government to lower the refinance rate and support small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). He also demanded decreasing the cost of doing business by reducing energy tariffs and land expenses. He stressed the need of raising awareness among non-filers about the benefits of entering the tax net.
He suggested expanding the tax base by bringing individuals with industrial or commercial electricity or gas connections into the tax net. He recommended charging a 25% income tax on the bills (electricity/gas) of non-filers and emphasized the need for a National Tax Number (NTN) for new commercial electricity/gas connections.
