Miftah Ismail, Federal Minister for Finance and Revenue, declared on Thursday that the government had saved Pakistan from bankruptcy, stating that progress had been made in talks with the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
The finance minister insisted that they had saved the country from default and that the country’s financial situation was now stable.
Miftah Ismail, speaking at a press conference in Islamabad alongside Information and Broadcasting Minister Marriyum Aurangzeb, said the government needed to make some difficult decisions to keep the country’s economy from collapsing. He did, however, express optimism that the government would be able to control inflation within the next two to three months.
Miftah informed that the government was expecting to receive $2.3 billion in loans from China by next Monday. “The rate of US dollar has also come down today and positive signs are coming out of the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX),” he said.
Dispelling the impression that the poor people were bearing the brunt of taxation, the minister claimed that actually, the government had levied taxes on the rich people. “We have presented a historic Budget in which no new tax has been introduced; the fact is that we plan to increase taxes on sugar mills’ owners and billionaires,” he clarified.
He went on to say that never ever in his life had he seen such a pathetic economic situation of the country.
Miftah again did not forget to lash out at former prime minister Imran Khan and alleged that he had left behind a ‘bankrupt’ Pakistan. “When we took over, there was a deficit of Rs120 billion,” he said and asked about the purpose of PTI’s ascent to power when according to party Chairman Imran Khan, the purpose was not to reduce the prices of tomatoes, onions, and other food items. “The PTI government had borrowed excessive loans and these were the poor people who were the victims of the last government’s taxation,” he opined.
Miftah maintained “We saved Pakistan from default by increasing the prices of petroleum products. The government has reached an understanding with the IMF over the budget’s measures.”
The minister said that he will deliver the winding-up speech of the general discussion on the federal budget for the fiscal year 2022-23 in the National Assembly and then they will close the budget. “It is a historic budget as we have neither increased indirect taxes nor imposed taxes on commodities or consumption,” he added.
The finance minister slammed the PTI government, claiming that they imposed high consumption taxes that harmed the poor.
He claimed that the previous government ran four of the highest-ever budget deficits and that Pakistan’s debt had increased by 80 percent since the country’s inception during the PTI’s tenure. He claimed Imran Khan drove the country to the verge of bankruptcy.
He maintained that they only imposed taxes on the rich. “I have imposed taxes even on the companies of the prime minister’s son and my own company will now also pay more tax,” he added.
Miftah stated that the government has helped the poor by shifting the burden of taxation to the wealthy. He stated that rich people with incomes exceeding 150 million rupees would face additional taxation.
