ISLAMABAD – Federal Finance Minister Shaukat Tarin Thursday unveiled theEconomic Survey of Pakistan 2020-21.
Tarin, while speaking at the pre-budget 2021-22 press conference, saidPakistan will end this fiscal year with a surprise growth figure of 3.9percent, beating several earlier projections that fell in the range of 1-2.
He said countries around the world usually boost their tax revenue byfocusing on indirect taxation first. However, as Pakistan moves forward,the focus will be on consumption and income tax.
He blamed World Bank and the International Monetary Fund for downplayingthe country’s economic growth. Adding that the government itself projectedGDP growth rate at 2.1 percent, which is higher than the prediction of IMFand World Bank.
The new Finance Minister said ‘economy is recovering as Pakistan’sremittances had broken records. Remittances had crossed $26bn adding thatlately imports, especially food in the form of wheat and sugar, wereincreasing. The surge in remittances represents overseas Pakistanis’ trustin the premier.
Tarin said FBR tax collection recorded over 50 percent growth over the pastthree to four months. “We have set FBR tax collection target in the nextbudget at Rs5.8 trillion”, he disclosed. State Bank of Pakistan’s (SBP)reserves has also risen to $16 billion
Pakistan was a net exporter of food but now, we have become a net importer.Our exports registered a growth but our remittances increased manifold, hesaid.
Tarin, while addressing criticism, said the government was increasing debt.It was inevitable that the debt had to rise considering there was a fiscaldeficit in the country.
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The country’s total debt has soared by only 1.7 trillion from 2020-21; heappreciated the numbers saying the decline compared to the previous yearsis considerable.
Government move to facilitate manufacturing and textile industries, as wellas construction and agriculture sectors, helped the economy recover, hepointed out. Adding that large-scale manufacturing goes up by 9pc, whilethe agriculture sector growth was recorded at 2.77 percent against a targetof 2.8.
The agriculture sector fared well despite the fact that the cotton crop wasdamaged; he said and added other crops made up for the loss incurred due tothe cotton crop damage. He acknowledged that prices of commodities are highand taking a heavy toll on the common man despite the government’s effortsto bring down inflation.
The former banker also hailed the role of the IT sector in the South Asiancountry, saying that it will be promoted in the coming fiscal year. The ITsector is growing by 40 percent. We want to see a growth of 100 percent inthe coming year.
Highlighting the impact of novel Covid-19 in causing the economy tocontract in 2020, he said the decisions of the incumbent government underthe supervision of Prime Minister Imran Khan stablised the economy whichresulted in improving performance on the growth front.
He reiterated economic hardships due to the pandemic last year as 20million people were rendered jobless. Tarin hailed the premier’s decisionto go for smart lockdowns instead of a complete lockdown to tackle thepandemic without damaging huge losses.
