Pakistan’s total debt has reached $258 billion: Finance Minister

ISLAMABAD: Federal Finance Minister Senator Muhammad Aurangzeb has said that Pakistan is aware of the problems of the salaried class. He said that the government is not willing to burden the salaried class with even more taxes.

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In a recent interview to the French news agency, AFP, the Finance Minister said that the industrial sector has also reached the maximum tax limit. “Tax collection and revenue sources must be improved,” he said adding that, “tax revenue from real estate and retail sectors must be increased”.

Muhammad Aurangzeb said that more Rs 5.2 million have been collected as income tax returns, and the tax base has increased by 29 per cent in the recent years. The federal minister also stressed that “theft in government corporations will have to be stopped, electricity losses need to be controlled, and tax evasion cannot be tolerated under any circumstances.”

Regarding the privatisation of the Pakistan International Airline (PIA), he said that PIA would be privatised in November. He said that this time is allotted to give bidders an opportunity to scrutinize their investment. The Finance Minister also said that the government wanted to privatise PIA in June 2024, but the privatisation process was delayed due to the audit of PIA’s assets.

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Speaking on the overall borrowing situation of Pakistan, Aurangzeb said that the total debts of Pakistan have reached $258 billion, which is equivalent to 69 per cent share of the entire economy.