“What is to be done with all this going on? Should we give up or should we fight back?“
DESPARDES — Adviser to PM Khan on Commerce, Textile, Industry & Production and Investment Abdul Razak Dawood says despite economic stabilization the country has still not seen economic growth.
The challenge for Pakistan is to change from an import consumption country to a country with exports, he said while addressing ‘Business-Way Forward’ talk organized by the English Speaking Union of Pakistan at a hotel in Karachi on Saturday.
According to Mr. Dawood, Pakistan as an import consumption country has been borrowing from the International Monetary Fund (IMF). “In the last 30 years, Pakistan has had to borrow 13 times from the IMF. And then the country has also had to agree to IMF’s conditions.”
“And along with that Pakistan also faces a taxation issue. It is a daunting task. People say to us ‘who are you?’ They say they will not pay their taxes as they did not vote for Imran Khan. What is to be done with all this going on? Should we give up or should we fight back? But we have to be able to turn this country around into a country where all people pay taxes,” he said.
Dawood said there was a need to talk more about exports than imports. “We need an export-led growth. Pakistan is a country where 47 per cent of our revenue is used on imports. We have to bring it down but in order for us to do that we have to pay our taxes”.
He pointed out that for the last 30 to 40 years tariff has become a tool for generating revenue. “We need proper checks and balances here if we want proper governance”.
“I know every country has issues. Like, there were Malaysia and Turkey which had a major crisis, but after reforms their economies are back on the path to recovery,” he added.
He also pointed out that for Pakistani brands to be respected and known to stand for quality and reliability Pakistani businessmen need to have international vision.
The original article appeared in Dawn
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