The Finance Minister Ishaq Dar on Thursday asked the Federal Board of Revenue to incorporate tax proposals on urgent basis for the federal budget of next financial year.
Finance Minister Ishaq Dar chaired a preparatory meeting with FBR officials for the upcoming budget for FY 2017-18 on Thursday. Special Assistant to Prime Minister on Revenue, Haroon Akhtar Khan, finance secretary, chairman FBR, and senior officials of FBR and the ministry of finance also attended the meeting.
Minister of State for Telecom, Anusha Rehman Khan, secretary telecom, and senior officials of the ministry of telecom, also joined the meeting briefly to discuss tax-related proposals of the IT and telecom sector.
An official source said that the finance ministry agreed to the tax suggestions proposed by the telecom sector like ending discrimination in sales tax at a higher level. It would be brought down to the standard rate of 17 per cent from 19 per cent. The SIM activation tax will be eliminated.
The tax concessions were required as the government wants to push e-commerce in the country. Chinese e-trade giant AliBaba has already shared a plan with the government for initiating its operation in the country, the source said adding that the 4G telecom service coupled with mobile payment solutions can usher in an e-commerce era in the country.
The finance minister instructed FBR officials to finalise their budget work as early as possible according to the prescribed timelines. The chairman FBR informed the finance minister that FBR’s budget preparations are in their final stages, and will be completed in a timely manner as per the directions.
The minister highlighted the 5.28 per cent GDP growth rate achieved by Pakistan during FY 2016-17, which is a ten-year high, and the target for the next fiscal year is 6 per cent growth. He emphasised that strong revenue generation will play a crucial role in achieving the targets for economic growth. He highlighted that great strides have been made in tax collections under the present government, and the aim is to generate even higher revenues in the coming fiscal year.
