Government Strategy of Stabilizing Economy and Boosting Tax Revenue

The Ministry of Finance highlighted that efforts to stabilize the economy, such as maintaining a primary surplus, ensuring a steady exchange rate, and the State Bank of Pakistan's notable interest rate cuts in response to falling inflation, are expected to lower public debt over the next few years.

Additionally, the government is strategically managing both external and domestic debt by utilizing its available cash reserves to meet principal and interest payments, as reported by the finance ministry.

In the session, the Finance Ministry also shared a breakdown of FBR's tax collections over the last five years. According to the data, FBR exceeded its revenue targets in 2019-20 with Rs3,997 billion collected against a target of Rs3,908 billion. In 2020-21, collections amounted to Rs4,745 billion, surpassing the Rs4,691 billion goal, and in 2021-22, Rs6,148 billion was raised, exceeding the Rs6,050 billion target.

For the fiscal year 2022-23, FBR managed Rs7,164 billion, falling slightly short of the Rs7,200 billion target, while in 2023-24, tax revenue reached Rs9,252 billion, narrowly missing the Rs9,299 billion target. These numbers reflect a consistent upward trend in tax collection, despite ongoing economic difficulties.