Finance: The ‘taxing’ year ahead

The current fiscal year rendered an estimated four to five million Pakistanis jobless and threw 20-30m below the poverty line. Moreover, record high inflation, hovering above 30 per cent during the year, tested consumers’ and businesses’ will to survive. We may not see as many people added to the jobless pool in the next fiscal year. We may not see as many individuals slipping below the poverty line either. But the new fiscal year, starting from July 1, will again test people’s and businesses’ will to survive amidst slow economic recovery, high inflation, lesser subsidies and fresh taxes. FY24 will be more taxing — quite literally! Excessive government borrowing from domestic and external resources during FY23 will eat up more than half of the projected revenue resources of FY24. The worsening law and order situation and the reemergence of terrorism will claim larger resource allocation for the maintenance of law and order.