PM's aide flays PTI for fiscal deficits

Bilal Azhar Kayani, the coordinator for economy and energy under Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif's administration, responded to criticisms made by former federal minister Hammad Azhar regarding the government's budget and tax collection efforts, and came down hard on Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI).

In a recent statement, Kayani defended the government's policies, highlighting past achievements and emphasising the responsibility and realism embedded in their fiscal plans.

Kayani began by pointing out the challenges faced by the previous government, led by prime minister Imran Khan and the PTI, in meeting tax collection targets. He pointed out that the PTI government failed to achieve the Federal Board of Revenue's (FBR) tax collection targets for three consecutive fiscal years, spanning from FY2019 to FY2021.

Furthermore, Kayani highlighted a significant disparity between the revenue targets set by the PTI government for FBR and the actual revenues collected in FY2020. This gap amounted to a staggering Rs1,557 billion, which accounted for 28 percent of the targeted revenue, he said, adding that it marked an unprecedented occurrence in Pakistan's history, indicating a significant shortfall in tax collection.

Another notable aspect mentioned by Kayani was the decrease in tax collection under the PTI government compared to the previous year. In FY2019, the PTI government collected only Rs3,829 billion, which fell short of the Rs3,842 billion collected by the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) in the previous year, he said, adding that this negative tax growth was observed for the first time in the country's history.

Kayani also addressed the issue of fiscal deficits during the PTI era. He highlighted that the average annual fiscal deficit under the PTI government amounted to Rs3,871 billion. In contrast, during the PML-N's governance from 2013 to 2018, the annual fiscal deficit averaged at only Rs1,664 billion.

Kayani emphasised that the PTI government consistently failed to achieve fiscal deficit targets, with the fiscal year 2022 recording a record deficit of Rs5,260 billion.

Responding to criticism regarding the recent budget, Kayani pointed out that the government faced additional challenges during the financial year due to a devastating flood disaster, which resulted in an economic loss of $30 billion. Despite this setback, the government prioritised flood relief efforts while simultaneously reducing the current account deficit by limiting imports, he said.

He also said that targeted relief was provided to the most vulnerable segments of society. Moreover, Kayani proudly noted that tax revenue had increased by 16 percent compared to the previous year, with only a 4 percent shortfall in the tax target, as mentioned in Hammad's post.