This is apropos a Business Recorder op-ed “IMF programme will test SIFC” carried by the newspaper last Thursday. The writer, Shahab Jafry, deserves a lot of praise for presenting a highly informed perspective in this regard.
The writer has raised a very important question in his argument by stating, among other things, that “SIFC does not have a political constituency or vote bank to worry about, so the million-dollar question is whether or not it will arm-twist the government into finally forcing these bloated sectors into the tax net.
It will reduce the pressure on existing taxpayers, expand the tax base, increase national revenue and, for once, mean that the government is complying with its own tax laws”. Presided over by the prime minister, this forum also comprises all the four chief ministers and the army chief.
In my view, therefore, SIFC is likely to confine itself to its primary function of enticing or attracting foreign investments and help remove impediments to such investment by reducing or even eliminating the bureaucratic red tape.
The army chief’s presence on the council can work wonders for increased investments from the Arab nations, particularly Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Qatar. It may be recalled that the incumbent army chief Gen Asim Munir, who took charge in November 2022, met top Saudi officials two months later on his first official trip to the Gulf kingdom as Pakistan was facing an unprecedented economic crisis (it is however still in dire straits).
Gen Munir had followed in the footsteps of his predecessors in visiting Saudi Arabia on his maiden overseas trip. Insofar as the objective of tax base broadening is concerned, the prime minister or none of the chief ministers will acquiesce to any taxation proposal that ultimately hurts their vote bank or constitutes a challenge to vote politics. We all know that a career in politics involves a passion and hunger to succeed.
In order to protect and preserve their political interests, they will, therefore, be reluctant to go for wholesale tax reforms. Needless to say, tax reforms can help revive economy. Last but not least, our army chief must have realized by now that politicians in Pakistan are actually part of the problem; they can never be part of solution.
Muniba Hashmatullah
Karachi
Copyright Business Recorder, 2024
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