KARACHI: Chairman of National Business Group Pakistan, President Pakistan Businessmen and Intellectuals Forum (PBIF), Mian Zahid Hussain has said that people will not get any relief for the years to come as developmental schemes will take a serious blow after agreement with the IMF while the price of everything will skyrocket.
He was of the view that the country has been trapped by the IMF. Every coming day will increase the problems of the people already facing merciless inflation while mini budgets will be a frequent exercise by the government, he said.
A country that can earn six billion dollars in four month from textile exports has reduced the value of currency by 14 percent and allowed a huge increase in the price of everything including electricity, petrol and gas for a meagre loan which is beyond comprehension, he observed.
He said that the economic experts have pushed the country, which has great potential, to the wall and now borrowing is the only option to survive and repay debts.
He said that for decades policymakers made wrong decisions, incompetent bureaucrats played havoc with the country and authorities are putting the burden of taxes on the masses, saving the elite from all obligations which had brought the country to the brink of disaster.
Those who matter are ready to discredit their country in the world but they are not ready to force the elite to discharge their obligations by paying taxes. He noted that evading taxes in Pakistan has always been a better option than paying taxes due to their high ratio which is now being increased under the dictates of the IMF.
The aristocracy is ready to make the country face embarrassment for a loan of one billion dollars but they would not pay taxes while the government will continue to pump four billion dollars annually to run the failed state-run companies for political benefits, he said. He said that state-run corporations should be privatised without delay so that the country can save four billion dollars annually.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2021
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