Pakistan is facing one of its worst financial crises and its economy is on the verge of collapse. The question is can new finance minister Muhammad Aurangzeb, who took charge last month, revive the economy from the brink of collapse?
Pakistan’s financial crisis is deepening more due to high inflation, slow growth, and unsustainable debt. Muhammad Aurangzeb, the new finance minister who took charge of the ministry last month, has the biggest task to revive the country’s economy. Muhammad Aurangzeb is a former employee of JPMorgan Chase & Co. with a long experience, but the question is can he save Pakistan’s economy from collapse?
No Salary To Pakistan’s Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb?
59-year-old Aurangzeb studied in the Aitchison College and at Wharton on a scholarship. He worked at Citigroup Inc. in New York earlier. He also worked for ABN Amro Bank NV.and worked also for JPMorgan in Singapore. He became CEO of Habib Bank Ltd., in Pakistan, which was later shut down due to various sanctions.
He is not receiving a salary at this time,same like other cabinet members. In addition, he also gave up his Dutch citizenship to be qualified for the position, reported ET Now.
Pakistan’s Economy On Verge Of Collapse?
After the major financial crisis in Pakistan, the World Bank has asked Pakistan to adopt a national fiscal policy by aligning federal and provincial spending with constitutional mandates, merge various federal and provincial revenue agencies into a single general sales tax (GST) collection agency, and effectively tax agriculture, capital gains and real estate in the next fiscal year’s budget, Dawn reported on Monday.
On the sidelines of World Bank-IMF spring meetings, Pakistan Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb will discuss it with the World bank to make it a part of the next International Monetary Fund programme.
What the World Bank Suggested To Pakistan?
The bank demanded tangible progress on GST harmonization across the federation and its federating units, “including through rollout of the GST portal” and move towards “rate harmonization to facilitate tax compliance and the provision of input tax credits”.
On top of this, the World Bank also suggested “consolidation of all GST collection responsibilities with a single agency, which could then distribute revenues in accordance with constitutional provisions” to reduce administrative complexity.
At present, GST is collected by the Federal Board of Revenue, mostly on goods and some services, while similar revenue boards are operating in provinces to collect GST on some services. However, given the overlapping nature of certain services, the stakeholders have been facing GST collection adjustments among the provinces.
(With Inputs From ANI)