ISLAMABAD:Adviser to the Prime Minister on Finance and Revenue, Shaukat Tarin on Monday informed that an agreement between Pakistan and International Monetary Fund (IMF) under Extended Fund Facility (EFF) worth US$ 1.059 billion has been finalized.
The Adviser said that Pakistan and IMF have reached the US$1.059 billion agreement up to staff level and now the agreement is in the executive board for approval which will be approved by the board by January 12 , 2022.
He said this while addressing a press conference along with Minister for Energy Hammad Azhar and Chairman Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) Dr Muhammad Ashfaq Ahmed.
Shaukat Tarin said that after the signing of this agreement between Pakistan and the IMF, the door of economic cooperation would be opened for Pakistan in various international economic institutions including the World Bank and the Asian Development Bank.
As a result, there is potential for further improvement in the country’s economy in the future.
He said that the conditions proposed by the IMF were Rs 700 billion in taxes but the government agreed to Rs 350 billion.
“We have saved fertilizers, food items and other things from taxes,” he said.
Replying to a question regarding Fiscal Consolidation, he said that along with savings in many places, the Public Sector Development Program (PSDP) would be reduced from Rs 900 billion to Rs 700 billion and some more steps would be taken.
“Apart from the agreement with the IMF, we have set a tax revenue target of 5.8 trillion,” he said.
The government is optimistic about the tax revenue target as “we are still seeing a 36 percent increase in tax revenue over the previous year,” he said.
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