ISALAMABAD, Aug 26: Despite recent optimism surrounding Pakistan's economy, the country is facing an "existential crisis" stemming from its woeful tax collection rates and inability to finance itself, a report said Wednesday.
Pakistan's economy grew at 4.24 per cent during the 2014-2015 fiscal year with per capita income rising a significant 9.25 per cent, markers that come as investor confidence in the long-underperfoming South Asian giant have also increased.
But according to the report by non-profit organisation Raftar, funded by Britain's Department for International Development (DFID), Pakistan's economy continues to rely heavily on "commercial loans, concessionary donor loans and aid".
The country's tax-to-GDP ratio of 9.4 per cent is among the lowest in the world, leading to a public debt of 17 trillion rupees ($163 billion). This an almost three-fold increase since 2008 for the $232 billion economy, with 44 per cent of tax revenue going toward interest payments.    ?AFP