The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has raised concerns about the performance of Pakistan’s Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) and rejected claims that the income deficit has been resolved.

Sources stated that discussions between the IMF mission and the Ministry of Finance are in progress for $ 1 billion tranches. A team led by federal Finance Minister Mohammad Aurangzeb met with the IMF mission to discuss new tax targets, Express News expressed Thursday.

During the meeting, the government provided a briefing on the integration of public institutions and cost -saving measures, including the merger of institutions and elimination of positions, resulting in savings of RS17 billion.

Despite these efforts, the IMF questioned the effectiveness of FBR to tackle the revenue deficit and rejected the requirements of Pakistani officials on the solution of this question.

In addition, the meeting explored the right size of government employees and the possibility of a “golden handshake”, which could lead to elimination of 700 positions in class 17 to 22 along with thousands of lower quality positions.

Sources also mentioned that changes in the law of officials are considered to facilitate the removal of excess government employees. The Ministry of Finance ALOS presented a strategy to reduce expenses and address the revenue deficit.

Previously, the IMF Pakistan’s request to grant tax exemptions for foreign investment projects rejected. The Special Investment Facility Council (SIFC) had sought the exceptions during a detailed orientation to the IMF delegation and argued that tax relief would help attract foreign investors.

However, the global lender rejected the request and maintained its position on fiscal discipline.

During the briefing, SIFC officials presented investment opportunities, government structures and infrastructure plans.