An International Monetary Fund (IMF) team will begin its visit to Pakistan on Friday to help prepare the federal budget for FY2025–26. The IMF delegation will meet with Pakistani officials to discuss tax measures, revenue strategies, and expenditure control. The team will also focus on the allocation for development spending in the upcoming budget.
The federal budget for the fiscal year 2025–26 is expected to be presented in early June. The IMF team will collaborate closely with the Ministry of Finance to finalize the budget proposals. The government has set an ambitious target for tax collections, aiming for Rs15,270 billion, an increase of Rs2,300 billion compared to this year’s target.
The Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) projects that direct tax collections for FY2025–26 will reach Rs6,570 billion, up from Rs5,512 billion this year. Recently, the government also approved measures to combat tax evasion, including the establishment of new offices within the FBR for better coordination.
Earlier, Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb confirmed successful talks with the IMF regarding a $1 billion loan tranche. The finance minister assured that the IMF would release the Memorandum for Economic and Financial Policies (MEFP) soon. Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif was updated on these developments during a meeting with the business community.