Fiscal Deficit Management – The “Big Five” Theory

Unlike external account, fiscal management remains in the hands of the government. There’re two main components of fiscal account — taxation involving Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) and non-tax Public Sector Entities (PSEs). Both these components doesn’t require any external support and assistance, as such, and it could all be handled with the political-will and the right policy actions by the government. That’s where the theory of “Big Five” comes handy, whereby the idea is that “top five regulators” and “top five PSEs” shall be made independent and eventually reformed. This will help in addressing the fiscal deficit to a very large extent, and perhaps completely over a period of time.