‘Mini budget likely ahead of talks with IMF’
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January 1, 2021
ISLAMABAD: Government is contemplating increase of Rs3.30 per unit in the electricity tariff by mid-January, a taxation of up to 200 billion rupees and a possible increase in discount rate ahead of talks with International Monetary Fund, officials said Thursday
The government hopes these measures will help restore 6 billion dollars IMF program which had been stalled since February 2020.
The hikes will be construed as mini budget “but the government has no other option”, a senior official confided to The News.
The official was talking to The News after he attended a high level meeting on energy chaired by Prime MInister Imran Khan here on Wednesday.
Top Story
January 1, 2021
ISLAMABAD: Government is contemplating increase of Rs3.30 per unit in the electricity tariff by mid-January, a taxation of up to 200 billion rupees and a possible increase in discount rate ahead of talks with International Monetary Fund, officials said Thursday
The government hopes these measures will help restore 6 billion dollars IMF program which had been stalled since February 2020. The hikes will be construed as mini budget “but the government has no other option”, a senior official confided to The News. The official was talking to The News after he attended a high level meeting on energy chaired by Prime MInister Imran Khan here on Wednesday.
PM to Take Nation into Confidence Before Electricity Tariff Hike
The government is contemplating increasing the electricity tariff by Rs. 3.3 per unit by mid-January, additional taxation of up to Rs. 200 billion, and a potential increase in the discount rate. These measures are likely to be introduced as a mini-budget before resuming talks with the International Monetary Fund, reported a national daily.
These measures are likely to be taken in efforts of restoring the $6 billion IMF program, which has been halted since February 2020.
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The IMF mission is due for talks in January 2021, and before its suspension, one of the demands made by the mission was an increase in the electricity tariff. IMF wants the government to charge consumers the full cost of electricity generation to contain the circular debt that has swollen to Rs. 2.300 trillion.
IMF سے مجوزہ مذاکرات سے قبل منی بجٹ آنے کا امکان ہے، ذرائع jang.com.pk - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from jang.com.pk Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
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December 24, 2020
ISLAMABAD: The government is most likely to take the masses into confidence about the inevitable increase in power tariff by Rs3.30 per unit before December 31, 2020 to qualify for restoration of the stalled $6 billion IMF loan programme, a senior official of the Energy Ministry privy to the expected development confided to The News.
âPakistan wants to revive the IMF programme which got stalled in February 2020 due to disagreement over additional tax measures and increase in electricity prices. The main issue the government is facing is the fiscal crunch and there is an uphill task of debt servicing payments in future and Pakistan is now in the lurch and is left with no option but to go back to the IMF,â he said.