IMF delegation to visit Pakistan on February 24, says Aurangzeb

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) delegation will arrive in Pakistan on February 24 for talks on climate funding, ARY News reported on Thursday.

“Pakistan will hold talks with IMF delegation on February 24 for climate fund,” Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb said in his media talk.

Aurangzeb said Pakistan is expecting to get $1 to $1.5 bln from the international lender under climate funding, while another delegation of the IMF will arrive in Pakistan in March for the six-month review of the ongoing loan program.

The minister said Pakistan witnessed surplus current account for seven months and urged the need for the structural reforms to fix ‘DNA’ of the economy.

Earlier, federal Minister for Finance and Revenue, Senator Muhammad Aurangzeb said that country’s retail sector, which contributes a significant 19% to the country’s GDP, is paying a mere 1% in taxes, sparking concerns over the sector’s lack of contribution to the national exchequer.

Speaking at a conference on “Retail Reimagined: Innovate, Collaborate & Thrive”, organized by The Pakistan Retail Business Council (PRBC) , the minister said, the disproportionate burden of taxes on the manufacturing, services industry, and salaried class is unsustainable.

“We need to bring other segments, including agriculture, real estate, retail, and wholesale, into the tax net.” He lauded provincial government for taking measures towards this end by passing bills in their respective assemblies for imposing agricultural taxes.