LAHORE: Provincial Finance Minister Dr Ayesha Ghaus Pasha has said that payment of tax was a national responsibility as it helped in provision of basic facilities like healthcare and education to citizens.
She was addressing 5th and 6th balloting of Amanat Scheme under the aegis of Punjab Revenue Authority (PRA) at 90 Shahra-e-Quaid-i-Azam here.
The minister said that due to effective strategy adopted by the Punjab Revenue Authority, the rate of tax receipt had risen to 27 percent during the months of July and August. She said that launch of Amanat Scheme was proving to be most effective in this regard. She said that Amanat Scheme had resulted in an increase of more than 33 percent in revenue receipts in a short period of six months. Moreover, growth rate of hotels registered under RIMS scheme was ten percent higher than unregistered ones, she added.
Ayesha Ghaus Pasha informed the participants that PRA had received more than 600,000 Whatsapp invoices so far which was a proof of success and popularity of this scheme. The Punjab Revenue Authority was going to start this scheme in other districts as well and the process of registration had started in Faisalabad, she added. The balloting was conducted in the light of the numbers given by the participants.
The minister congratulated the winning taxpayers and said the Punjab government was thankful to the people for their cooperation in the promotion of tax culture. Director General PRA Mujtaba Paracha also spoke of the occasion.
At the end of the ceremony, Dr Ayesha Ghaus Pasha distributed keys of vehicles, motorcycles and Umrah tickets among winners of the last balloting. She also distributed prizes among hotel owners.
