Every sector bound to play role in boosting revenue, says FinMin after IMF visit

ISLAMABAD: After the International Monetary Fund (IMF) mission — led by Nathan Porter — concluded its visit to Pakistan, Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb expressed the government’s determination to enforce the measures related to revenue collection, saying that every sector will have to contribute in this regard.

“The government is firm on compliance and enforcement regarding the revenue and taxations and every sector will have to play its due role,” he said while addressing a press conference in Islamabad on Sunday.

Since the visit was not anticipated, there were reports that the global lender’s visit would mean the federal government would have to roll out a mini-budget.

However, Aurangzeb — while talking to Geo News earlier — dismissed the possibility and also denied reports of additional tax measures.

In a statement earlier today, the global lender said it has urged Pakistan to broaden its tax base by targeting untapped revenue sources — as the country grapples with challenges in expanding its tax collection.

The Fund said the staff visits are standard practice for countries with semi-annual programme reviews and aim to engage with the authorities and other stakeholders on the country’s economic developments and policies and the status of planned reforms.

Addressing the presser, the finance minister said that the Fund and Pakistan were engaged in a continuous dialogue as “mutual credibility and trust” is built through bilateral talks.

“They [IMF] didn’t say anything that we were not aware of already […] there were no surprises,” Aurangzeb said, adding that he welcomed the Fund mission’s visit.

The minister pointed out that reforms related to taxation, energy reforms and the state-owned enterprises (SOEs), privatisation and public finance were on the IMF’s visit agenda.

He further said that the visiting mission took stock of the situation and held discussions on various matters, including climate resilience.

“We shared our economic road map with visiting IMF mission and how we will take it [reforms] forward,” he said, adding that the interactions would continue virtually. At the same time, he said he would also welcome another opportunity to meet IMF officials “face-to-face”.