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Pakistan Won’t Impose More Taxes This Fiscal Year, Geo TV Says

A vendor sells garments at a market in Rawalpindi, Pakistan, on Sunday, Oct. 29, 2023. Pakistan is scheduled to release consumer price index (CPI) figures on Nov. 1. Photographer: Asad Zaidi/Bloomberg (Asad Zaidi/Bloomberg)

(Bloomberg) -- Pakistan Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb said the government will not impose more taxes through any mini-budget in the current fiscal year as it’s set to meet its collection target, Geo television reported.

The government will achieve its tax revenue goal of 13 trillion rupees ($47 billion) by June, Geo cited Aurangzeb as saying. 

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s government is facing public criticism for raising taxes and energy costs to meet the International Monetary Fund’s conditions for a loan package and fix flaws in the economy. 

An IMF team completed talks in Pakistan last week with both sides agreeing on the need for the South Asian nation to continue prudent fiscal and monetary policies and mobilize revenue from untapped tax bases. The fund said it will hold the initial performance review under Pakistan’s $7 billion loan program in the first quarter of 2025.

Sharif has made pledges to the IMF that his administration will restructure or divest from unprofitable state-owned entities to reduce the financial burden. 

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