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Runaway budget deficits

The last three years witnessed a steady decline in the consolidated budget deficit during the tenure of the IMF program. The deficit was 6.4% of the GDP in 2012-13, excluding…

Budgeting without people

BUDGET time is here again, with unending discussions of money in amounts most of us cannot fathom. Numbers amounting to billions and arabs — not to be mistaken for the Saudi…

Budget repair

THE federal budget for fiscal year (FY) ‘24 will be presented against a complex domestic environment and a challenging global economy. There has never been a more critical time to…

Budgetary outcome in 2023-24

The statistics on the outcome of fiscal operations by the federal and provincial governments in 2023-24 were released recently by the federal ministry of finance. The overall outcome indicates a…

This is a budget for the rich

The major issue with the federal government’s recently announced budget is its failure to convince anyone outside the government’s core supporters that it can achieve its intended results. Another significant…

Thoughts on the provincial budgets

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KPK) budget was announced on 25 May, two and a half weeks before the federal budget was announced on 12 June, the Punjab budget was announced a day…

Economic policy, federal budget and role of opposition

‘…the existence of the opposition is ‘nearly the most distinctive characteristic of democracy’. In parliamentary democracies, since government and parliamentary majorities often coincide, the opposition is expected to function as…

Reorienting Budget 2024-25

THE CONTEXT: Budget 2024-25 is being presented at a time when things are tough for millions of citizens. Exhausting inflation in fiscal years (FYs) 23 and 24, has eroded 40…

Deficits in our lives

There is this quotation from Einstein that I was surprised to discover: “The hardest thing in the world to understand is the income tax”. And for that matter, it is…

Budget FY25: Test of fiscal discipline

Walking a tightrope to balance income against expenditure without hurting the people and losing political capital has always remained a challenge for the finance minister of Pakistan who is making…