FM Dar presenting Rs 14.7 trillion budget
ISLAMABAD: Finance Minister Senator Muhammad Ishaq Dar is presenting Rs 14.7 trillion new budget in the National Assembly for the fiscal year 2023-24.
In the new budget, the government has projected fiscal deficit around 7 percent of the GDP.
Meanwhile, the government set the Federal Board of Revenue tax collection and non-tax revenue targets
Tax Collection Target Rs 9.2 trillion for 2023-24
Non-Tax revenue collection target Rs 2.7 trillion
Total Revenues Rs 11.9
To achieve the non-tax revenue target, the federal government is amending the finance bill to enhance the petroleum development levy (PDL) from existing Rs 50 per liter to Rs55-60 per liter.
This will enable the government to mop up Rs 870 billion massive non-tax revenue just from the PDL in 2023-34 budget, starting from July this year. For the outgoing fiscal year, the revised estimate of PDL collection is Rs550 billion.
Hence, in 2023-24, the government will try to raise Rs 320 billion additional revenue through increase in the PDL rate.
The lack of credibility of the budgetary numbers will continue haunting the economic managers because they will keep changing during the course of the financial year.
Dar says Goodbye to IMF
Dar says goodbye to IMF
Finance Minister Senator Muhammad Ishaq Dar has termed the “undemocratic and unfair” idea of making a new government commit to IMF for a new deal.
In other words, he said “Goodbye” to the IMF, leaving the new deal to the government which comes to power after the upcoming elections.
Dar said, “We should be clear that the ongoing suspended program, if it completes or not, will end on June 30. The coalition government has ”run and ruined” the country without IMF since April last year.
Nevertheless, one thing that we must appreciate is that the government has saved the country from default without IMF support and with the help of China, Saudi Arabia, and the UAE.
As elections are approaching this year after the completion of the National Assembly’s tenure in August, the coalition government has decided to leave the new IMF deal to the new government.
Ishaq Dar stated this during his press conference while launching the new economic survey.
