ISLAMABAD: Federal Finance Minister Muhammad Ishaq Dar has claimed that the government will not put new burden on the existing taxpayers in the budget for 2016-17 and steps would be taken to bring non-filers under the tax net.
The minister said this while addressing a pre-budget seminar here. The seminar was addressed by Senator Osman Saifullah Khan of Pakistan People’s Party (PPP), Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) Deputy Chairman Shah Mehmood Qureshi, SAARC Chamber of Commerce and Industry Vice President Iftikhar Ali Malik, Federal of Pakistan Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FPCCI) President Abdul Rauf, Islamabad Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ICCI) President Atif Ikram Sheikh, and stock exchange expert Arif Habib.
The finance minister assured that in the budget, no new tax burden would be put on common man and those already paying their taxes. However, he said that the government would specially target the non tax filers in a bid to force them to come into the tax net.
Dar said the withholding tax imposed by the government had not only helped increase the number of taxpayers but also collect Rs20 billion during the year. He said the budget deficit was expected to remain 4.3 per cent during the current fiscal year which had witnessed a significant decrease from 8.8 per cent deficit three years ago. He claimed that during next fiscal year, the budget deficit would be further decreased to 3.5pc.
The minister said that the GDP growth rate would remain 4.71 per cent by the end of current fiscal year, adding, “This growth rate would have been even higher to about 5.2 per cent if cotton crop had not been badly affected.”
Ishaq Dar highlighted the benefits of Diamer-Basha Dam and Dasu hydel project to overcome the energy crisis. The minister said the $46 billion China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) initiated with the help of China would bring prosperity in the country.
