Budget lessons

Never learnt

The budget has unfortunately become an exercise without much substance. It would have some authenticity if any of its major targets were ever met, or if the sitting government ever did something about the under-performance. Instead it’s become just another day of sloganeering where the government sees progress even in under-achieved targets and the opposition rejects the budget document out of hand. And so it happened this time. No trouble, really, if GDP finished at 4.7pc instead of the targetted 5.5pc. That did not keep the finance ministry from setting next fiscal’s target at 5.7pc without really explaining how the big jump will ever be materialised.

Agriculture finally got the attention it needed, but only after a collapse that made the sector post -0.19pc growth against the projected 3.9pc. But, to give credit where it is due, the new package is a lot more targetted than previous initiatives and seems to have been put together after some result-oriented strategising. Also, nobody had any problems with the increased defence budget. With Zarb-e-Azb coming full circle, everybody acknowledges the need to keep the anti-terror drive lubricated. Little else, though, stood out.

Some analysts expected, wrongly of course, that the government would finally give revenue the attention it has long deserved. Promises to expand the tax net – on the campaign trail in 2012-13 – now seem from another age. Dar sb was being slightly liberal with facts when boasting the 60pc or so rise in tax receipts over the last few years since they came from unconventional, regressive taxation. It is not surprising, considering the government’s tax policies, that the number of filers is actually falling. Nothing in the budget spoke of even a realisation that drastic reforms are urgently needed. The same is true for exports. Still, this budget should win the ruling party points for consistency, if not much else.