Miftah Ismail becomes finance adviser

Former BoI chief replaces Dar, promises to address deficit issues, encourage return of foreign wealth

ISLAMABAD: The government on Tuesday appointed Miftah Ismail as adviser to the prime minister on finance, reintroducing the Musharraf-era model of economic management.

Ismail, a former IMF economist, said broadening the extremely narrow tax base and giving an offshore tax amnesty scheme are his top priorities.

The government notified Ismail’s appointment on the same day Rana Afzal Khan was sworn in as minister of state for finance and economic affairs. The government did not give charge of Revenue to Afzal as Special Assistant to the PM on Revenue Haroon Akhtar is already looking after the FBR.



The PML-N Government has replicated General Pervez Musharraf’s model of economic management. At that time, Dr Salman Shah was Finance Adviser and Omar Ayub was Minister of State for Finance.

These appointments have been made after former finance minister Ishaq Dar went on extended medical leave on November 21. Dar, who headed the finance ministry for almost four-and-a-half years, is facing graft allegations and has been indicted by an accountability court for amassing assets beyond known sources of income.

The former finance minister has pleaded not guilty and is standing trial in the NAB reference filed against him in line with the Supreme Court’s judgment on July 28 in the Panamagate case.



Keeping it simple

“My immediate priorities will be giving an opportunity to those who hold assets abroad to bring back their wealth”, Ismail told The Express Tribune.

For months, the government has been contemplating an offshore tax amnesty scheme and has already completed the paperwork.

To a question, Ismail said that if the government could not secure the required votes to get approval for the scheme, it may call a joint session of Parliament or promulgate a presidential ordinance. But he said that the government will try to achieve political consensus on the matter.



Ismail said that his other priorities will be lowering tax rates by broadening the base and fully paying tax refunds. The newly-appointed adviser said that a guaranteed refund scheme will be offered.

He also vowed to declare non-filers of income tax returns as “criminals”.

Instead of the current distinction of filers and non-filers of income tax returns, from next year there will be filers and criminals, he added.

Ismail earned a BS degree in Economics and Mathematics from Duquesne University, Pittsburgh, USA, and Masters and Doctorate degrees from the Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania in Public Finance and Political Economy in 1990. He has worked as an Economist at the IMF in Washington. He is a successful entrepreneur who, before joining politics, used to run Pakistan’s largest confectionery company. He has worked as the head of the Punjab Board of Investment and Trade, chairman of the Federal Board of Investment, and briefly as chairman of the Privatisation Commission. He has also served as a director of PIA and as chairman of Sui Southern Gas Company.



The finance adviser termed managing the current account deficit and growing budget deficit as two major challenges he will have to tackle.

Despite the issuance of $2.5 billion Eurobond and Sukuk bond last month, the gross official foreign currency reserves stood at $14.33 billion including $6.1 billion borrowed from commercial banks.

Independent economists and the opposition parties criticised the former finance minister for putting the economy on the wrong path by heavily borrowing to increase foreign currency reserves and meet foreign debt repayment obligations. Dar has also been criticised for levying an unprecedented Rs1.4 trillion in new taxes in the five budgets he presented.