- The government plans to raise more than $22 billion through foreign loans in the budget.
- It failed to launch bonds in the outgoing year due to poor credit rating.
- There is a plan to increase the salaries and pensions of government employees.
ISLAMABAD: The government plans to raise $2 billion through the issuance of Eurobonds in the upcoming budget for 2023-24.
Budget makers are getting hard numbers. Next Budget At a time when the International Monetary Fund (IMF) program has not been revived, due to the inflow of dollars through foreign loans.
However, the government plans to raise more than $22 billion through foreign loans. Next Budgetand the number is still declining with expectations that Islamabad will be able to raise $2 billion through the issuance of Eurobonds in the next fiscal year.
The government had planned to issue international bonds in the outgoing fiscal year as well, but failed to do so, mainly due to IMF program restructuring, poor credit rating and bond rate hikes and risks.
The government has also proposed to raise income levy on all types of assets and cash withdrawals and withholding tax on registration of motor vehicles in the upcoming budget for 2023-24.
The government plans to increase the salaries and pensions of civil servants in grades 1 to 16 and those in grades 17 to 22 by 30 percent and 20 percent respectively.
The pension bill will be higher than the federal government’s salary bill. The total budget estimate for the upcoming budget is over Rs 14.2 trillion, under which the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) has set a target of Rs 9.2 to 9.5 trillion for tax collection and Rs 2.5 trillion for non-tax revenue. .
To achieve a primary balance of 0.1% of GDP, provinces are expected to generate a revenue surplus of 1% to achieve a marginally positive primary balance in the next budget. In the next budget, a major chunk of Rs 7.5 trillion will be spent on debt repayment.
Originally published in The News.