IMF asks govt to end tax breaks for agri, textile sectors

The Inter­national Monetary Fund (IMF) has asked Pakistan to swiftly end preferential treatment, tax exemptions and other protections for the agriculture and textile sectors, which it says have stifled the country’s growth potential for decades. In its staff report on the diagnosis of the factors behind Pakistan’s struggling economy, the IMF blamed these two sectors not only for failing to contribute adequately to the national revenue but also for consuming large portions of public funds while remaining inefficient and uncompetitive. As part of the recently approved $7 billion Extended Fund Facility (EFF), the IMF stressed that Pakistan must break from its economic practices of the past 75 years to escape its recurrent boom-bust cycles.