Tax experts express possibility of Mini-Budget

The government is relying on last year's policies to collect taxes for the next financial year, opined tax experts who were of the view that there are many ambiguities in the finance bill and there is a risk of a mini-budget.

The views were made during the Post Budget Conference held under the auspices of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Pakistan. Various economists commented on the budget for the next financial year on video links.

Experts say there are several ambiguities in the finance bill. Some experts said that the government is relying on the policies of the current financial year to achieve the target of tax collection next year.

Experts said that apparently there is no new tax in the budget but the possibility of a mini-budget cannot be ruled out. Experts were of the view that the federal budget targets are quite satisfactory.

The government presented 'Corona' budget for the next fiscal year on Friday with a total outlay for the next fiscal year has been projected at Rs 7132 billion and total revenue at Rs 6573 billion with the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) share of Rs 4963 billion as opposed to Rs 3900 billion for the current fiscal year.

The GDP growth for the next fiscal year has been targeted at 2.1 percent with 6.5 percent inflation and a current account deficit of 4.4 percent as well as to increase foreign direct investment (FDI) 25 percent.