The cost of being formal in Pakistan

I run the kind of business Pakistan says it wants and needs. I produce goods, employ people, file my returns and try to operate formally. Yet the more formal and visible a business becomes, the more the government comes after it. I am told that the IMF programme has stabilised the economy, the fiscal numbers are improving and Pakistan is making progress. But if that is so, why does it feel harder each month to stay afloat? This is what it feels like to be in the formal economy of Pakistan. Most formal businesses are not asking for favours or subsidies; they want a stable environment in which they can do what they do best. They want to pay the taxes they legally owe, but do not want arbitrary demands or delayed refunds to finance the state while they scramble for working capital at exorbitant interest rates. They want to grow and employ people, but higher fuel, transport and food costs qu...