Hike in taxes ‘must to break IMF bailout cycle’

Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb has warned that the country would continue seeking financial assistance packages from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) if the government failed to significantly boost its tax revenues. Speaking to a UK publication, the minister said he was “relatively confident” of reaching a staff-level agreement with the IMF this month for a loan the government had estimated to be between $6-$8 billion. “But it will not be our last fund programme if we don’t bring our tax revenues up,” he added. Aurangzeb’s comments came days after the president signed the federal budget for the current fiscal year—that has been criticised by the opposition, trade associations and even the government’s allies for its ambitious tax targets.