According to a Business Recorder news item, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has constituted an 11-member ministerial committee headed by Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb to deliberate upon and firm up proposals for budget 2024-25 “with focus on improving fiscal situation including reduction in non-development budget, fostering export-led growth and providing relief to common man against harsh impact of high inflation”.
The foregoing clearly suggests that this government has taken the task of budget for financial year 2024-25 quite seriously owing to a variety of reasons, including growing fiscal imbalances/distortions, and dearth of foreign exchange.
The composition of the commission— (i) Minister for Defence; (ii) Minister for Planning, Development and Special Initiatives; (iii) Minister for Industries and Production; (iv) Minister for Economic Affairs; (v) Minister for Commerce; (vi) Minister for Petroleum; (vii) Deputy Chairman Planning Commission; (viii) Secretary Finance; (ix) Secretary Planning, Development and Special Initiatives; and (x) Secretary Revenue Division— also appears to be strong reflection of government’s intent to come up with a budget that should make some valuable contributions towards efforts aimed at bringing about a marked improvement in the country’s economy, which is still in dire straits.
In my view, curtailing the current expenditure could be one of the most effective steps towards this objective. Broadening of tax base without further taxing the already taxed people in a meaningful manner will also be required at all costs.
The imperative of introducing reforms in the energy sector cannot be ignored, side-stepped or forgotten. The team members, in my view, have the skills, experience and ability to come up with the required proposals or input to help the government prepare a balanced, pro-poor, growth and employment-oriented budget.
One must not lose sight of the fact that the ongoing talks between Pakistan and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for a new programme/lending have given a lot of prominence to the upcoming budget.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2024