Pakistan : Terrorist Wahabi Islamic Rep Pakistan 6

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Unexpected increase in budget deficit



Senate body asks FBR to explain shortfall

ISLAMABAD : The Senate Standing Committee on Finance and Revenues has taken serious notice of the unexpected increase in budget deficit and shortfall in the federal tax collection in fiscal year ending on June 30, 2010 and has sought explanation from the economic managers of the country, official sources informed here on Tuesday.



The Senate Standing Committee is scheduled to meet on July 29, 2010, where Ministry of Finance would give a detailed briefing on government’s economic performance during the last fiscal year 2009-10.



According to the official sources, the Committee in its notice has directed the Chairman Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) to explain reasons for this shortfall in the upcoming meeting of the committee.



According to the sources, the budget deficit was to be kept at 5.1 percent of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) by the end of fiscal year 2009-10 as per IMF programme, however, due to the sudden increase of expenditures on war against terrorism and power sector subsidies, the budget deficit reached to a un-sustainable level of 6.2 percent of the GDP by the end of the fiscal year.

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