THE Ipsos survey, conducted by the Paris-based market research firm, revealed on Sunday that 42% of Pakistanis believe the country is heading in the right direction — the highest figure recorded since 2018.
Perceptions of economic strength reached their most favourable level since August 2019, while optimism overtook pessimism, marking what the firm described as a key psychological shift among the population.
Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb welcomed the new global survey showing consumer confidence in the country had surged to a six-year high, calling it a reflection of the government’s disciplined economic strategy.
He called the data “encouraging” and said it showed the success of the government’s policies implemented over the past 14 months.
Opinion surveys are generally carried out at the instance of sponsors and not considered as truly reflective of the ground situation.
However, this survey carries weight as it has been undertaken by a foreign neutral firm known for its professional approaches to issues.
Therefore, Finance Minister Aurangzeb and members of his economic team can surely take legitimate pride as their hard work is being recognized globally.
In fact, there is no exaggeration in the survey as economic indicators have visibly improved during the last one year leading to increased satisfaction of the people of Pakistan over handling of the economy.
The most important factor behind surging confidence of the consumer is downward trend in inflation which is a major achievement of the government as price hike was number one concern of the people.
This, in turn, is mainly attributable to falling prices of the oil in the international market, lower prices of perishables, stable exchange rate, reduction in electricity tariff and a close watch on demand and supply situation.
It is also a reality that tax collection has increased tremendously, the stock market is booming, local and foreign investors are showing keen interest in undertaking ventures in different sectors of the economy and economic activity has picked up.
Falling interest rate will help bring down the cost of doing business and this in turn might ease the prices of different products.
The situation would have been much better but the government opted not to pass on the entire relief of the falling prices of oil in the international market to the domestic consumer.
Similarly, it also could not ensure a trickle-down effect of reduced prices of oil and falling prices of commodities in the international market where the margin was pocketed by importers or manufacturers.
The survey also found that confidence in job security was now at its highest level since 2019, suggesting improving labour market conditions driven by pro-growth policies.
The Finance Minister has reaffirmed that the government was committed to maintaining macroeconomic stability, deepening structural reforms and ensuring inclusive economic growth.
He noted that the rise in consumer confidence was broad-based, with notable increases seen in both urban and rural areas — particularly among youth and women.
However, there are many ifs and buts in the backdrop of media reports about contours of the federal budget for the next financial year.
Leaked reports indicate there might be more burden on the existing tax-payers in the face of inability of the government to bring defaulting sectors in the tax net, especially small traders and professionals.
The plan to increase the tax on bank deposits both for filers and non-filers will be a direct attack on the savings of the vulnerable segments of the society.
There is already a 15% tax on bank profits, which is highest considering the fact that the bank deposits on which income was received from banks also arose from income which was already subjected to tax at the time of its earning.
Again, the plan to levy additional GST on cash transactions will also lead to increased cost of living as not all citizens have bank accounts or credit/debit cards.
We hope the Government will increase tax collection by taxing defaulters and not by burdening the common man directly or indirectly.
