ISLAMABAD: Federal Minister for Privatisation, Fawad Hasan Fawad, on Monday said in three years, i.e., from 2018-21, the government spent Rs2.54 trillion in terms of subsidies, grants and loans to keep commercial SOEs operational with the size of the government has increased by more than three times in the last couple of decades.
While speaking at the 3rd “Pakistan Prosperity Forum” organised by the Policy Research Institute of Market Economy (PRIME), Fawad said the current state of the public sector is unsustainable and contributes to the deterioration of the business environment in the country.
He added that Pakistan’s taxation system not only incentivises people to stay out of the tax system but also contributes to corporatization.
In the keynote address, Shahid Hafeez Kardar- former governor of the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP), highlighted that rationalising public expenditures is crucial for the sustainability of public finances.
Dr Nadia Tahir stressed the importance of fiscal prudence by sharing that fiscal spending has yet to result in economic growth in Pakistan. The government, IMF, business community, academia, and media representatives attended the forum.
Speakers presented the diagnosis of the economic challenges by focusing on the debt crisis caused by unrestrained spending and suggested reforms to build an agenda for sustained economic growth.
