WASHINGTON: Pakistan’s Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb has said that non-tax filers would be restricted from purchasing property and vehicles, stressing those difficult economic decisions are inevitable for improvement.
In a press conference in Washington, he said that there is a need for legal coverage pertaining to non-filers. He added Pakistan is going to eliminate the non-filer category. He noted ongoing efforts to increase Pakistan’s tax-to-GDP ratio from 9% to 13%, with inflation rates and the policy rate showing improvement as a result.
The Minister said that his meetings with stakeholders in the United States were constructive and positive, adding that the stakeholders lauded the efforts of the Pakistani government in bringing down inflation in the country.
He was in the US to attend the World Bank (WB) and International Monetary Fund (IMF) Annual Meetings from October 21 to 26.
The minister held a series of meetings with the leaders from several global finance institutions and authorities including multinational banks, World Bank, rating agencies, IMF and the Asian Development Bank (ADB).
He said the US business communities were willing to invest in Pakistan as all rating agencies aid the economy of the country was moving in a positive direction.
He also told the media that the World Bank would give Pakistan a grant instead of a loan. He further said the government would not seek any more loans from the IMF.
“We have had constructive discussions with the IMF. We will try to make this IMF programme our last programme,” he said, adding that because of the government’s initiatives, the country was advancing towards macroeconomic stability.
“We are abolishing the term of non-filer. The non-filers will not be able to buy cars and properties and we will need a legal cover for that purpose,” he said.
The finance minister added they had been working constantly for the past six months for economic improvement and bringing reforms in the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) was a major in this regard. He added the country’s foreign exchange reserves had increased to more than $11 billion.
On privatisation, he added that three power distribution companies would be privatised in the first phase.
The finance minister further said he held various meetings with leaders of different international finance companies on Saturday as well.
Meanwhile, during a meeting with the Regional President for VISA Andrew Torre in Washington, the minister lauded VISA’s commitment to modernising Pakistan’s payments ecosystem, including support for local payment players.
He praised VISA’s efforts in promoting financial inclusion and supporting entrepreneurs in Pakistan.
Global Head of Corporate and Investment Banking Business of Natixis Mohammad Kallala also held a meeting with the finance minister in Washington DC and briefed him on Natixis’ operations and strong presence in infrastructure, transportation, renewables, aviation, telecom and tech sectors.
Kallala shared that the bank aimed to collaborate with a number of leading Pakistani companies to facilitate the investments.
Muhammad Aurangzeb in meeting with Chinese Vice Minister of Finance Liao Min in Washington, reaffirmed the all-weather strategic friendship between Pakistan and China.
He thanked the Chinese government for its solid support of Pakistan’s socio-economic development and help in securing the IMF’s Extended Fund Facility.
Aurangzeb said that Pakistan was eager to learn from the Chinese experience with economic reforms. He also welcomed BYD’s decision to launch its electric vehicles in Pakistan.
“The government is committed to providing foolproof security to Chinese workers,” he emphasised.
He also requested China to increase the limits under the Currency Swap Agreement to CNY 40 billion.
