IMF Happy To See Pakistan’s Speedy Economic Growth: Finance Minister

Web Desk—Federal Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb said that the International Monetary Fund (IMF) was surprised to see the economic growth we attained in just 14 months.

The minister said that the government was committed to extending the well-earned macroeconomic stability even further to strengthen the country’s economy. He said that “prudent economic policies” had led to substantial improvements.

Talking to the media in Islamabad on Sunday, the finance minister claimed that the inflation rate had reduced from 38 percent to 7 percent, adding that Pakistan’s foreign exchange reserves were enough to meet the next 2.5 months’ import bill.

He also talked about the recent visit of the IMF mission to Pakistan, saying it is an ongoing dialogue process, and discussions were held on energy and SOE reforms, the privatization agenda, and public finance.

All have to pay tax

He said the government was firm on compliance and enforcement regarding tax collection and every sector would have to play its due role in this regard.

A country needs taxes to sustain long-term growth, he said, adding that “Countries do not and cannot run on charity or donations.”
Meanwhile, he admitted that the salaried class was already overburdened. The finance minister said increasing taxes was not a solution, rather the expansion of the tax net should be the ultimate goal.