Mansoor Sadiq

Pakistan Tax Advisors Association (PTAA) says the main reason behind Pakistan’s dwindling economy is mismanagement, which can be corrected by bringing an end to luxurious expenses. PTAA President Mian Abdul Ghaffar told WealthPK that from 2017 to 2022, overseas Pakistanis remitted $145 billion to the national exchequer, while Pakistan also received about $20 billion from friendly countries and the International Monetary Fund (IMF). He said it was the responsibility of the successive governments to save the dollars coming into the country in the form of remittances as foreign exchange reserves.

Commenting on the additional taxes of Rs170 billion through Finance Supplementary Bill (mini-budget) on part of the government to get the IMF program, Abdul Ghaffar said these taxes will further burden the masses with more inflation and unemployment. The PTAA president pointed out that Pakistan was facing an economic crunch for not maintaining checks and balances regarding its earnings and expenditures.

“There is a long list of additional and unnecessary expenses by the government that does not suit the status of Pakistan being a developing country,” he underlined, adding that some incentives, allowances and bonuses to the bureaucracy and high-ranking government employees come under the ambit of extravagant expenses.

He said the entire structure of Pakistan’s economy needs a revamp. If it was not done, he said, Pakistan would continue to face more pressure from loans. He said more debt servicing means the government would be left with nothing to spend on the welfare of its masses.

Abdul Ghaffar said the government needs to bring more people under the tax net. He opined that the number of taxpayers in the country should have been at least 15 million today. He said this target can be achieved through reforms in the taxation system. He said the taxation policy should be formulated by taking all the stakeholders into confidence and tax amnesty schemes must be introduced where necessary.

The PTAA president said the government needs to introduce strict monitoring to ensure enough dollars are available to protect the forex reserves.President All Pakistan Traders Association Ajmal Baloch said the mini-budget would further burden the country’s people, particularly the traders.

In a media talk, he said the reduction of working hours of markets owing to energy shortages may prove counterproductive. He explained that fewer working hours means less income for the common workers in this era of unprecedented inflation.He said the government’s austerity drive is a welcome development, but it can be successful only if the loopholes in the government expenditure are plugged through a visible reduction in perks and privileges.

Credit: Independent News Pakistan-WealthPk