ISLAMABAD - Finance Minister Senator Ishaq Dar has said that tax officers should improve their performance, work hard and demonstrate their administrative and professional abilities to ensure that the revenue target of Rs.2475 billion set by the government was achieved through better governance and plugging of leakages.
He said that Pakistan Muslim League Nawaz government is committed to transparency and accountability of each rupee collected as taxes and its utilisation for the welfare, progress and prosperity of the nation.
This, he said, while addressing senior officers of the Federal Bureau of Revenue of South Region including Chief Commissioners, Commissioners of Inland Resource Service and Chief Collectors and Collectors at Customs House Karachi, this morning. The Finance Minister Senator Ishaq Dar had last visited Customs House Karachi in June 1999.
According to press statement issued here, Senator Ishaq Dar said that the importance and role of tax administration for national economy couldn’t be over-emphasised.
The government, the Finance Minister said, is committed to increase the tax to GDP ratio through reforms in the taxation system as well as FBR.
The Finance Minister said there is need to mobilise our resources to improve our infrastructure and launch projects of national importance for the economic progress of the country as well as a better future for our coming generation.
Dilating on the measures taken by the government to increase tax collection the Finance Minister said the government had imposed with-holding tax on retailers and distributors, minimum tax on builders and developers and was focusing on sectors that are out of the tax net, besides giving access to banking information for bringing in the tax net non-assesses for increasing the number of tax payers in the country.
The Finance Minister said that the objective of taxation reforms introduced by the government include encouraging corporatisation of economy for which several incentives like low rates for the corporate sector were included in the budget, increasing dependence on direct taxes, reducing tax-evasion by facilitating tax-payers’ compliance through simplification of tax procedures, simplifying the administration of taxes and compliance particularly for small businesses, broadening the tax base, elimination of money laundering and whitening of black money, improving the process of self-assessment and audit compliance and helping the Provincial Governments to increase their tax revenues by accepting agricultural income only if provincial agricultural income tax was paid.
The Finance Minister said that the objective of the tax policy is to devise a system to ensure that the taxes are collected from each person according to his or her capacity. The citizens must be convinced that the taxes are collected fairly and equitably and the taxes collected will be properly utilised, he added.
The Finance Minister said that those who pay taxes should be facilitated and extended due respect so that their contribution is recognised. He expressed the confidence that the tax payer would be facilitated and counseled to enable him to file declarations.
The Finance Minister said that the measures taken by the government have started bearing fruits. In July 2013, exports showed an increase of 9.28pc, there was a current account surplus of $46 million against a deficit of $426 million against the corresponding period last year, record tax-collection of Rs.134 billion and an all time high remittances to the tune of $1.4 billion.
The Finance Minister expressed the confidence that with sincerity of purpose and hard work we can achieve our economic objectives by putting the economy back on track and bringing in macro-economic stability to ensure prosperity, welfare and development of the country.
Earlier the Finance Minister appreciated the efforts made by the tax administration of the south region and their contribution to national tax revenue. The Finance Minister expressed the hope that they will redouble their efforts to meet their respective targets so that the revenue target of Rs.2475 billion set by the government for the current fiscal year was achieved.
Tariq Bajwa, the Chairman FBR was also present on the occasion.