ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister’s Special Assistant on Revenue Haroon Akhtar Khan on Tuesday said the recent tax amnesty scheme is different from the schemes announced earlier and it will pave the way for rapid national development.
He said that the scheme has been announced by keeping ground realities, economic problems, international laws and prevailing environment, therefore, criticism is unwarranted.
Khan said this while speaking at a pre-budget meeting at the Federation of Pakistan Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FPCCI) capital office. Chairman FBR Tariq Mehmood Pasha, President FPCCI Ghazanfar Bilour and representatives of dozens of trade associations from all over the country were also present on the occasion.
The Minister for Revenue said that if the recent scheme attracts five to ten billion dollars it will resolve a lot of the problems the country is presently facing.
He informed that the trade deficit has emerged as the greatest challenge and all possible steps are being taken to tackle it. He said that we are changing the tax culture which will make the country self-sufficient if the business community feels safe.
The trade agreements have not increased exports but triggered imports which is unsustainable therefore all such deals in the future will be thoroughly vetted and the input from the business community would be preferred, he said.
Haroon Akhtar Khan informed that regulatory duties have been imposed on imports while currency has been devalued which has increased exports by 24 per cent in the month of March while imports have been reduced to 6 per cent from 26 per cent.
He informed that the incumbent government doubled revenue to $1,946 billion while keeping the average inflation at four per cent. The tax to GDP ratio was increased by almost three while corporate tax was slashed by five per cent which can be further reduced in the case of the tax net expansion.
He said that we are trying to reduce dependence on imports and boost manufacturing without which country cannot thrive.
Earlier, President FPCCI and other business leaders including Senator Ilyas Bilour, Zubair Tufail, Abdul Rauf Alam, Mazhar Ali Nasir, Arif Jeeva, Haji Irfan Yousaf, Zubair Ahmed Malik, Karim Aziz Malik, Malik Sohail Hussain, Zahid Shiwari and others informed the minister about several issues and sought early resolution.
