It won’t be last IMF programme, if tax collection isn’t improved: Aurangzeb

In an attempt to broker a deal with the Washington-based lender, Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb issued a warning that if the government failed to considerably increase tax income, Pakistan would not be left with a single IMF programme.
A staff-level deal with the IMF this month is “relatively confident,” according to Aurangzeb in an interview with the Financial Times, given that Islamabad is looking at a bailout package that may cost anywhere from $6 billion to $8 billion.
The finance minister stated, “But if we don’t bring our tax revenues up, it will not be our last fund programme.” He had just unveiled a budget that complies with IMF requirements but has angered the salaried class and low-income groups greatly.