The PML(N)-led coalition presented its first budget in the National Assembly on June 10, 2022. Ever since, it has been debated, passed and implemented on July 01, the first day of the new financial year.
Key priorities, strategies, and objectives of the federal budget include rejuvenating the development programme, eliminating power outages, boosting agricultural production to improve national food security, reducing the fiscal deficit to restore financial stability, increasing industrial production, imposing a ban on the import of luxury goods, reducing losses in the public sector and enhancing tax rates wherever possible.
When asked about the strategy behind the new budget, official sources claimed that it was growth-oriented and based on a well-thought-out strategy for boosting economic performance. Similar objectives were outlined in the Medium-Term Budgetary Strategy Paper for the financial years 2022-2024, giving a clear roadmap of the priorities of the country to be revenue generation and spending policies.
Accordingly, the main points of focus that the government will work towards are stabilising economic growth, controlling high inflation rates, increasing revenue streams, adopting austerity measures, enhancing exports, protecting vulnerable members of the society through relief measures and welfare schemes and improving the overall socio-economic condition of the people. The government also vowed to control tax leakages at all levels and provide incentives for tax collection to agencies like the Federal Bureau of Revenue (FBR). This will encourage them to generate the maximum possible revenue through the stricter implementation of tax laws across the country.
There were 12 more objectives duly listed to be pursued and followed through in the budgetary measures during the current financial year of 2022-2023. These objectives include controlling fiscal deficit to boost national economic growth, maintaining the primary balance at a sustainable level, ensuring the protection of social spending for supporting the poor of the country, mobilising maximum resources for tax collection, increasing non-tax revenue through cost recovery measures and the rationalisation of all regulatory fees and the continuation of the successful programme with the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
There was also a special focus on maintaining an appropriate level of the development budget—also known as the Public Sector Development Programme (PSDP)—adequately funding special areas of the country to ensure their rapid development thereby bringing them at par with other developed areas of the country at the earliest possible, controlling non-productive and avoidable expenditure through the adoption of austerity measures at all levels, providing targeting subsidy to the deserving segments of the society, keeping the government expenditure within the approved budget allocations and controlling the prices of daily useable items through increasing the supply of such items.
At the end of the current financial year, hopefully, in June 2023, the information given above will help the people at large to see and compare how much of these priorities, strategic measures and objectives of the government were followed, and adhered to and implemented. It is a checklist of items to enforce accountability by the people and onto the government which has highlighted some bold objectives to be achieved within one year. The primary focus must be the betterment of the country and providing relief measures to the poor in the face of such harsh policies that will surely disadvantage them disproportionately. This must be true for all regions of the country, rural and urban alike so that national development is achieved in the longer term.
Key priorities, strategies, and objectives of the federal budget include rejuvenating the development programme, eliminating power outages, boosting agricultural production to improve national food security, reducing the fiscal deficit to restore financial stability, increasing industrial production, imposing a ban on the import of luxury goods, reducing losses in the public sector and enhancing tax rates wherever possible.
When asked about the strategy behind the new budget, official sources claimed that it was growth-oriented and based on a well-thought-out strategy for boosting economic performance. Similar objectives were outlined in the Medium-Term Budgetary Strategy Paper for the financial years 2022-2024, giving a clear roadmap of the priorities of the country to be revenue generation and spending policies.
Accordingly, the main points of focus that the government will work towards are stabilising economic growth, controlling high inflation rates, increasing revenue streams, adopting austerity measures, enhancing exports, protecting vulnerable members of the society through relief measures and welfare schemes and improving the overall socio-economic condition of the people. The government also vowed to control tax leakages at all levels and provide incentives for tax collection to agencies like the Federal Bureau of Revenue (FBR). This will encourage them to generate the maximum possible revenue through the stricter implementation of tax laws across the country.
There were 12 more objectives duly listed to be pursued and followed through in the budgetary measures during the current financial year of 2022-2023. These objectives include controlling fiscal deficit to boost national economic growth, maintaining the primary balance at a sustainable level, ensuring the protection of social spending for supporting the poor of the country, mobilising maximum resources for tax collection, increasing non-tax revenue through cost recovery measures and the rationalisation of all regulatory fees and the continuation of the successful programme with the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
There was also a special focus on maintaining an appropriate level of the development budget—also known as the Public Sector Development Programme (PSDP)—adequately funding special areas of the country to ensure their rapid development thereby bringing them at par with other developed areas of the country at the earliest possible, controlling non-productive and avoidable expenditure through the adoption of austerity measures at all levels, providing targeting subsidy to the deserving segments of the society, keeping the government expenditure within the approved budget allocations and controlling the prices of daily useable items through increasing the supply of such items.
At the end of the current financial year, hopefully, in June 2023, the information given above will help the people at large to see and compare how much of these priorities, strategic measures and objectives of the government were followed, and adhered to and implemented. It is a checklist of items to enforce accountability by the people and onto the government which has highlighted some bold objectives to be achieved within one year. The primary focus must be the betterment of the country and providing relief measures to the poor in the face of such harsh policies that will surely disadvantage them disproportionately. This must be true for all regions of the country, rural and urban alike so that national development is achieved in the longer term.
