ISLAMABAD:
Finance Minister Ishaq Dar on Tuesday directed the Federal Board of
Revenue (FBR) to meet the target of tax collection at the rate of Rs257
billion a month as the country could not afford a delay in matters
related to the economy.
He said the tax rates would not be increased but the tax base would be expanded to improve the ratio of tax to Gross Domestic Product (GDP).Notably, the government has made a commitment with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to abolish tax exemptions and broaden the narrowed tax base in the next budget 2014-15 for increasing its stagnant tax to GDP ratio.
Dar was speaking at the FBR’s Regional Commissioners Conference held at the board’s headquarters.“We are committed to raising the tax revenue of the FBR 0.75 percent by abolishing tax exemptions and taking other measures in the upcoming budget,” official sources told The News.
They said nearly 0.35 percent of GDP-related revenue would be generated only through abolishing different tax exemptions currently being enjoyed by influential segments of the society.The finance minister said, “All the macroeconomic targets are indicating a positive side of our national economy, but the FBR’s tax collection is lagging behind. All-out efforts are required to achieve the revised target.”
The minister said he might start sitting in the Revenue Division to ensure the revised tax collection target of Rs2.345 trillion for the fiscal 2013-14 materialised.The finance minister had returned home on Tuesday morning from the US after attending the annual spring meeting of the IMF and World Bank. On his return, he directly reached the FBR headquarters to inform the tax collectors that they would have to gear up efforts to achieve the target of Rs199 billion envisaged for the ongoing month (April 2014).
He appreciated the tax collector for attaining 17 percent growth in revenue by netting Rs1.573 trillion in the first nine months of the current fiscal year as compared to the same period last fiscal.
The FBR will have to generate Rs772 billion during the last quarter (April-June) to meet the annual target.The tax collection target was revised downward from Rs2.475 trillion to Rs2.345 trillion in view of the constraints.
FBR’s spokesman Shahid Hussain Asad told this scribe that the finance minister had appreciated the performance of the board and also directed the tax officials to improve their performance in the last quarter.
“In the conference, we finalised a strategy to improve our tax collection,” he said and added that the government was not going to announce any relief. Therefore, the commissioners are sensitised to focus on their collection targets envisaged for the remaining two-and-a-half months, he said.
It is relevant to mention here that the Nawaz Sharif government has committed to the IMF to abolish a number of tax exemptions and to take other measures to broaden the narrowed tax base in the next budget 2014-15
He said the tax rates would not be increased but the tax base would be expanded to improve the ratio of tax to Gross Domestic Product (GDP).Notably, the government has made a commitment with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to abolish tax exemptions and broaden the narrowed tax base in the next budget 2014-15 for increasing its stagnant tax to GDP ratio.
Dar was speaking at the FBR’s Regional Commissioners Conference held at the board’s headquarters.“We are committed to raising the tax revenue of the FBR 0.75 percent by abolishing tax exemptions and taking other measures in the upcoming budget,” official sources told The News.
They said nearly 0.35 percent of GDP-related revenue would be generated only through abolishing different tax exemptions currently being enjoyed by influential segments of the society.The finance minister said, “All the macroeconomic targets are indicating a positive side of our national economy, but the FBR’s tax collection is lagging behind. All-out efforts are required to achieve the revised target.”
The minister said he might start sitting in the Revenue Division to ensure the revised tax collection target of Rs2.345 trillion for the fiscal 2013-14 materialised.The finance minister had returned home on Tuesday morning from the US after attending the annual spring meeting of the IMF and World Bank. On his return, he directly reached the FBR headquarters to inform the tax collectors that they would have to gear up efforts to achieve the target of Rs199 billion envisaged for the ongoing month (April 2014).
He appreciated the tax collector for attaining 17 percent growth in revenue by netting Rs1.573 trillion in the first nine months of the current fiscal year as compared to the same period last fiscal.
The FBR will have to generate Rs772 billion during the last quarter (April-June) to meet the annual target.The tax collection target was revised downward from Rs2.475 trillion to Rs2.345 trillion in view of the constraints.
FBR’s spokesman Shahid Hussain Asad told this scribe that the finance minister had appreciated the performance of the board and also directed the tax officials to improve their performance in the last quarter.
“In the conference, we finalised a strategy to improve our tax collection,” he said and added that the government was not going to announce any relief. Therefore, the commissioners are sensitised to focus on their collection targets envisaged for the remaining two-and-a-half months, he said.
It is relevant to mention here that the Nawaz Sharif government has committed to the IMF to abolish a number of tax exemptions and to take other measures to broaden the narrowed tax base in the next budget 2014-15
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