IMF representative urges Pakistan to widen tax base and restructure energy sector

The International Monetary Fund's resident representative in Pakistan, Dr Mahir Binici, said on Thursday that the country has to move beyond macroeconomic stabilisation and take up deeper structural reforms.

Binici named four areas in remarks reported by the Associated Press of Pakistan: provincial tax mobilisation, governance improvements, restructuring of the energy sector and a reduction in the cost of doing business. APP did not say where he spoke or to whom.

The Express Tribune carried the same remarks and led on his call for a broader tax base and growth-oriented reforms, describing him in its headline as the IMF's country head. The newspaper quoted him as saying Pakistan needs a simpler, fairer tax system to finance development and investment.

Both accounts place the tax system at the centre of what he asked for. Provincial tax mobilisation refers to revenue the four provincial governments raise themselves, rather than receipts collected by the federation.

APP listed the four reform areas without giving figures, a timetable or the text of the remarks, and gave no detail on what the energy restructuring or the reduction in business costs would involve. The Express Tribune's report likewise carried no numbers.

The remarks as reported do not commit the government to any measure, and neither outlet said whether the IMF's loan programme conditions came up.

Neither report identified the audience Binici addressed, and neither said whether the government had responded. Both were published on Thursday, 5 November.