IMF advice recipe to bail out economy from mess

Islamabad: The Islamabad Women’s Chamber of Commerce and Industry (IWCCI) said on Monday IMF’s lack of trust and persistence to accelerate the pace of economic reforms in exchange for further financing calls for immediate bold decisions to save country from economic collapse.

The foreign lender has made loans conditional to transformation in existing policies including realistic revenue goals, fixing the issues of power and other public sector organisations, eliminating untargeted subsidies, revamping tax regime, improving bureaucracy, and reducing the budget deficit, said Farida Rashid, President IWCCI.

The IMF demands are not new but this time these must be taken seriously to ensure rescue loans as currency is depreciating and the very survival of country is on the stake, she said.

Farida Rashid said that IMF’s frustration over Pakistan’s failed commitments can have far-reaching impact on the future of the country as government will not be able to use the lender’s money to support dwindling reserves which will invite a disaster soon.

This is high time for government to take tough and unpopular decisions to save the country from economic collapse and ensure sustainable economic recovery. The unfair and oppressive tax structure should be overhauled without wasting time.

Farida Rashid said that our tax system is promoting inequality damaging country’s growth and blocking access of masses to economic opportunities; it has contributed to worsening inequality due to reluctance of the government to impose tax on rich, bring exempted and influential into the tax net.

She said that reforms have become imperative as complex tax system is failing to support government expenditures, development initiatives and it redistributes a small amount of money while doing little to slow the wealth polarization.

Farida Rashid said that tax is imposed on rich to benefit poor but in our country it is other way around due to non-transparent postings in the FBR by the political class.

Proper taxation on agricultural income, real estate, brokers and retail sectors can resolve most of the problems country is facing if FBR is freed from political influence.