Economic survey
The government is to present the federal budget today. And as is the norm, it released the Economic Survey of Pakistan the day before. The report card precedes, every year, the plan for the next year.
The report card wasn’t good. It wasn’t too bad. It was good. It depends on who you ask.
The finance minister’s post-survey publication press conference served to show – as the one today will again – that there is a dire need for screening members of the press for those with at least a surface-level understanding of economics.
With the public finance czar of the government present for questioning, many reporters chose to delve into rhetorical polemics supposedly about the common man rather than asking substantive questions.
The government has missed almost all its targets for the fiscal year. It managed to keep inflation within control but that might be because of a lower target to begin with. All this, the finance minister pleaded with us, was a result of the turbulent global economy. A tough year and what have you. This, coupled with the fact that Pakistan is still reeling, in certain areas, from the devastating floods it saw in the preceding years, has made it tough to achieve what the government thought it would.
The finance minister attempted to flash the little bit that his team did pull across. For instance, the rather impressive twenty five percent increase in revenue receipts. This, despite his recurring complaint against the elite’s aversion to taxation and effective legislation regarding tax collection.
Complaining about the bad economy is going to be construed by detractors as a captain complaining about choppy waters. It is a simplistic and flawed analogy. But can still be effective enough to understand things. It goes either way. Some storms are too violent to be weathered. But it is not just the international economy that is the sea here. It is also the economic geography of the country, with powerful pressure groups opposing taxation reform and the uber rich getting away with paying little or no tax.