The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has demanded strict implementation of program conditions during the final consultative stages of the budget, including the inclusion of agricultural income tax in the provincial budgets, so that its effective collection can begin before September 2025.
According to details, the IMF disagreed with the federal government’s plan to encourage increased electricity usage to utilize surplus power generation capacity.
The informed sources state that the IMF wants a strong commitment from the provinces to control expenditures, although the provinces have proposed expansions in development projects, which have also been approved by the National Economic Council (NEC). The four provinces have allocated about Rs850 billion more in development spending for the next year than the IMF’s estimates.
On the other hand, due to a decline in federal revenues, the provinces will not be able to fulfill the promise of providing a budget surplus this year, and for the next fiscal year, they are allocating their shares to the maximum extent so as not to be deprived of their financial rights before the next meeting of the National Finance Commission (NFC).
