Government Initiates Reforms In Tax And Revenue Culture: Hammad Azhar

Fakhir Rizvi Published April 02, 2019 | 11:26 PM

Speaking on the occasion, Minister of State for Revenue Hammad Azhar said the government had initiated reforms in both tax administration and tax laws to promote revenue culture and enhance tax to GDP ratio

ISLAMABAD (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 2nd Apr, 2019 ) Speaking on the occasion, Minister of State for Revenue Hammad Azhar said the government had initiated reforms in both tax administration and tax laws to promote revenue culture and enhance tax to GDP ratio.

He said the government wanted to upgrade and modernize the tax system through technology to decrease human interference in tax collection and other process.

He said the government had been integrating data for registering more tax filers and for taking action against non-filers.The PRAL system of FBR would also be upgraded with the latest technology.

He said the government was committed to bring about tax reforms and broadening the tax net for increasing the revenue.

Talking about the economy, the minister said the government had brought down the current account deficit considerably and it would further come down. The next steps would be taken to ensure fiscal stabilization.

Hafiz Pasha said Pakistan was facing many challenges, including the 'elite capture' of economy. The culture of tax concessions, exemptions and SROs was damaging the economy.

He said there were many imbalances in the current tax culture particularly in the agriculture tax system, which needed to be overcome. He also suggested imposition of Capital Gains Tax and inheritance tax, and also highlighted the importance of improving Free Trade Agreement with China as it was highly tilted in China's favour.

Former finance minister Sartaj Aziz was of the view that growth momentum was recorded during the past regime, while the current government could not sustain it.

He said maintaining growth momentum was imperative for the ailing economy. Overcoming the challenges of high prices and low growth would be a real challenge for the current government.