AlwaysFree: Pakistan's Fiscal Deficit To Surge To 9 Percent: Finance Minister

Pakistan’s de facto finance minister said the country’s fiscal deficit will surge to 9 percent in the ongoing fiscal year. 

In a bid to restart economic activity, the country started lifting a countrywide lockdown from Saturday. The main reason behind ending the shutdown when the rate of infections in the country is sharply edging up was fear of an economic meltdown.

Prior to the coronavirus, the expectation of the deficit was 7.6 percent. The deficit now expected to touch 8 percent plus and might be 9 percent. Pakistan is set to collect $24.54 billion in taxes, 19 percent below the downwardly revised target of $30.20 billion.

To tackle balance-of-payment problems amid economic fallout from the virus, the International Monetary Fund also gave Pakistan a $1.386 billion rapid financing package last month. In the ongoing fiscal year, the country’s economy is now projected to contract 1 percent to 1.5 percent. In the fiscal year 2019-2020, Pakistan was targeting growth of 2.4 percent.

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