ISLAMABAD – Finance Minister Abdul Hafeez Shaikh on Tuesday said the government was doing its best to improve the country’s economy but that objective could only be obtained by taxing the rich and re-distribution of wealth among the poor.
Addressing a special ceremony at the Planning Commission on Monday to mark the 20th Anniversary of the Human Development Report: The Real Wealth of Nations. The ceremony commemorated the contribution of late Dr Mahabub-ul-Haq to the concept of Human Development.
The minister further said that the federal government has transferred around Rs.300 billion additional to the provinces under National Finance Commission (NFC) Award. Finance Minster said that the government inherited the economic problems and it had no option other than to go to the International Monetary Fund, as fiscal deficit and inflation rate were on the higher side when we come to the government.
Dr Nadeem ul Haque, deputy chairman of the Planning Commission of Pakistan, and UNDP Administrator Helen Clark also spoke on the occasion.
‘Taxing rich can stop economic slowdown’
