Pakistan targets fiscal deficit of 6.54% in budget closely watched by IMF

ISLAMABAD, June 9 (Reuters) – Pakistan’s government will target a budget deficit of 6.54% of economic output in the fiscal year starting on July 1, the finance minister said on Friday, slightly below the current year’s revised estimate of 7%. Finance Minister Ishaq Dar announced the target during his budget speech to the national legislature. A source had said earlier in the day the budget would aim for a deficit of 7.7% of the gross domestic product for the 2023-24 fiscal year. The deficit target for the fiscal year ending this month had been revised higher, from a previous projection of 4.9%. The budget needs to satisfy the IMF to secure the release of stuck bailout money for the crisis-struck country, which is due to hold a general election by November…
IMF flags FY24 budget, says tax amnesty against programme conditionality
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has raised several issues in the fiscal year 2023-24 (FY24) budget tabled by the government in the National Assembly last week but remains ready to work with Pakistan to refine the budget ahead of its passage, the lender’s resident representative for Pakistan, Esther Ruiz Perez, said in a statement late on Wednesday. A day before the tabling of the budget, Ruiz had said Pakistan needed to satisfy the IMF on three counts, including the budget for the upcoming fiscal year, before its board will review whether to release at least some of the $2.5.. billion. S: dawnnews.com