Beyond tax-to-GDP ratio Published 07 Aug, 2026 05:15am Every pre and post budget debate in Pakistan presents a familiar headline: the country’s tax-to-GDP ratio remains...
China's Q2 GDP growth cools to 3-1/2-year low, missing market forecast Published 15 Jul, 2026 08:14am On a quarterly basis, GDP grew 0.9% in the second quarter, in line with analysts' forecast and compared with the 1.3% gain in the previous quarter
An economic cul-de-sac—II Updated 14 Jul, 2026 05:59am The second big force that will be the catalyst for change is the enormous youth bulge in the country; with almost 90...
EDITORIAL: Navigating the investment drought Updated 18 Dec, 2025 07:06am EDITORIAL: Grim economic news continues to arrive with unsettling regularity. Recent media reports warn that the...
Govt taking steps to cut cost of doing business: Kayani Published 16 Dec, 2025 06:04am ISLAMABAD: Acknowledging the high cost of doing business in the country, Minister of State for Finance Bilal Azhar...
IMF’s corruption assessment: All set to finalise action plan by 31st: Aurangzeb Published 09 Dec, 2025 03:29am ISLAMABAD: Federal Minister for Finance Muhammad Aurangzeb on Monday announced that the government is set to ...
The quest for higher tax-to-GDP ratio Published 03 Dec, 2025 05:59am I read with great interest the report titled, “Roadmap to Raise Tax-to-GDP Ratio Evolved: FBR Chief’ carried by...
Editorial: Impediments to inclusive growth Updated 11 Nov, 2025 12:25pm EDITORIAL: International Monetary Fund’s (IMF’s) representative to Pakistan Mahor Binici while addressing a ...
Confidence, not capital Updated 13 Oct, 2025 06:33am EDITORIAL: Recently, the Prime Minister said what every economist, banker, and CEO has been saying for years: the...
Italy to maintain GDP growth forecasts despite US tariffs Published 14 Sep, 2025 03:41pm ROME: Italy plans to maintain forecasts for GDP growth of 0.6% this year and 0.8% in 2026 in the budget plan to be...
Remittance inflows Updated 13 Sep, 2025 06:11am EDITORIAL: Home remittances July-August 2025 rose to USD 6.35 billion against USD 5.94 billion in the comparable...
Pakistan’s market cap to GDP ratio: a mirror to our capital market Updated 12 Sep, 2025 07:21am Introduction: a ratio that speaks volume In the world of finance, few metrics offer as clear a snapshot of a...
Dreaming beyond survival Updated 19 Aug, 2025 06:25am As Pakistan marked another 14 August — the day we claimed our place on the map of nations — we were once again...
PM orders removal of hurdles to FBR reforms Updated 06 Aug, 2025 08:56am ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Tuesday directed authorities to remove bureaucratic and institutional...
Fiscal performance of provincial govts Updated 11 Mar, 2025 06:02am The information on fiscal operations by the four provincial governments in the first half of 2024-25 has been...
Dancing on a volcano Published 10 Jul, 2024 03:14am Ten days into the new fiscal year, the FY25 budget is already in disarray. Amid calls for a nationwide strike, the...
The long and winding road to revitalising investment Updated 27 May, 2024 06:54am Pakistan’s investment-to-GDP ratio is at its lowest in fifty years, despite promises of tens of billions in ...
Flawed IMF programme design Updated 20 May, 2024 06:19am The International Monetary Fund’s (IMF’s) analysis and prescriptions in the second and final review document...
Outlook 2024 – II Updated 03 Jan, 2024 05:59am Increasing bank lending should to be the next move. The ratio of advances to deposits should increase from present...
Turkey’s 2022 budget deficit 139bn lira Published 16 Jan, 2023 01:37pm ISTANBUL: The Turkish budget deficit was 139.1 billion lira ($7.4 billion) last year and its ratio to gross domestic...
IMF calls for EU fiscal capacity, rules to be linked to risk Published 05 Sep, 2022 12:37pm BRUSSELS: The European Union should set up a fiscal capacity to pay for EU public goods, link the pace of debt cuts...
External debt to reach $140.9bn: IMF Updated 03 Sep, 2022 09:43am ISLAMABAD: The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has projected Pakistan’s external debt to reach $140.959 billion...
British midcaps slide over 2pc Published 14 Jun, 2022 05:56am LONDON: London’s FTSE 250 index fell to its lowest level in three months on Monday after data showed Britain’s...
Pakistan: economic focus Published 21 Apr, 2022 05:26am The international financial institution — World Bank (WB) — which is an influential source of funding as well as...
Tax-to-GDP ratio suffers blow due to pandemic Updated 10 Nov, 2021 09:42am ISLAMABAD: The tax-to-GDP ratio of the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) suffered a blow due to the Covid situation and...
GDP rebasing: no more delays! Updated 27 Aug, 2021 09:30am There is little doubt that the size of Pakistan’s economy is understated. Many economic indictors such as per...
Call for exempting small, marginal farmers, developing simple system for taxation Published 25 Jul, 2021 05:20am LAHORE: If agriculture income is to be taxed to increase tax to GDP ratio, then the government should exempt small...
Public debt increases by Rs1.607trn Published 11 Jun, 2021 03:41am ISLAMABAD: External debt of $81.606 billion in the Economic Survey 2020-21 does not contain foreign exchange...
Factors behind low tax-to-GDP ratio listed Published 11 Jun, 2021 03:41am ISLAMABAD: The distortionary exemptions, concessions, weak enforcement, low compliance by taxpayers, reliance on...
Climate change – challenges and opportunities Updated 13 Jun, 2021 12:02am Three years from now 143 countries will be celebrating the 50th year of the World Environment Day. It is a day for...