Dar assures Senate of changes in Finance Bill 2017

ISLAMABAD: Finance Minister Ishaq Dar on Thursday assured the upper house of the parliament of accommodating the practical recommendations suggested by the senate on the finance bill 2017. 

Winding up discussion on budget 2017/18 in senate, Dar appreciated the commitment and dedication of senate standing committee on finance, revenue, economic affairs, statistics and privatization for presenting a valuable report on recommendations on the finance bill 2017. 

The minister also appreciated the senators for presenting suggestions on the finance bill and assured them that he would try his level best to add all positive things in the budget, which will be winding up next week.

He reminded the house that 40 percent of their recommendations were incorporated into the budget of 2015/16 and eighty percent into the 2016/17 budget. 

Minister Dar said the government is making utmost efforts to finalise the next national finance commission (NFC) award at the earliest.

He, however, dispelled an impression that presenting the budget without the new NFC was unconstitutional. The provincial governments will have to demonstrate magnanimity and open-heartedness for giving share to
Azad Kashmir, Gilgit-Baltistan and federally-administered tribal areas from the NFC, he said.

Finance minister said there is no nexus between the NFC and the budget. A meeting with the provincial chief ministers will soon be held on the matter, he added.

He said the country has achieved economic stability due to the government’s strict financial discipline in finance and economic affairs. International economic monitors have declared Pakistan’s economy as one of the best growing economies in the world, he added.

Dar said the country has witnessed 5.3 percent growth rate during the current fiscal year due to prudent economic policies of the government. The economy size has reached to $300 billion, he added.

The government will make efforts to increase tax net and further improving tax collection system, the finance minister said, and dispelled the impression of borrowing foreign loans by the present government.

The government has fixed the GDP ratio at six percent for the next year, which he expressed the hope that the government would easily achieve.

Dar said that the government has planned to fix seven percent of GDP for 2018/19.

The government had introduced the Federal Debt Limitation law in the country, which became Act in 2005. There had been impression on the government about excessive borrowing, which was totally wrong, as the incumbent government is borrowing to invest for development, he added.

The finance minister said that the budget for various projects in the energy sector and infrastructure development has been increased from Rs300 billion to Rs1,001 billion and several programmes for social welfare have also been started.

The external debt was $48.1 million in 2013, which is $58.4 billion in 2017. The government had paid the installment of loans taken by the previous governments, he added.