The announcement of budget 2019-2020 by the government has steered quite a commentary from the likes of economists and experts illustrating the implications of the budget in line with the latest agreement with the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
Ms. Maha Rehman, Analytics Manager at CERP, talks about the budget as an erosion of purchasing power in Prism by DAWN.
She discusses increase in taxes for salaried class, along with an increase in taxes on commodities and removal of different tax exemptions the new budget is set to affect the economy at large. ‘The most immediate and visible consequence of this package is the erosion of the purchasing power of the common man. On a more macro level, with the removal of exemptions for LNG and given our current exporting industries, the cost of production will increase, making our goods less competitive in the global market.’ says Ms. Maha Rehman.
Read more under Is the PTI budget sustainable for an economy like Pakistan’s?
