ISLAMABAD: The World Bank’s (WB) loan of $400 million for FBR will target raising the tax-to-GDP ratio to 17 percent by financial year 2023-24 and widening the tax net from the current 1.2 million to at least 3.5 million active taxpayers.
A World Bank team led by Vice-President for Equitable Growth, Finance and Institutions (EFI) Ceyla Pazarbasioglu on Wednesday informed Finance Adviser Hafeez Shaikh that the under-consideration project will assist in simplifying the tax regime and strengthening tax and customs administration.
Dr Abdul Hafeez Shaikh said that Pakistan valued the financial and technical support provided by the World Bank for the institutional reforms and economic development of the country.
The WB team also discussed the Resilient Institutions Strengthening Programme (Rise) which includes an integrated debt management office in the Finance Division.
During the meeting, the adviser appreciated the support being provided by the World Bank to Pakistan and highlighted the government’s focus on expediting speedy rollout of the World Bank projects and actions being taken in this regard.
