KARACHI: Federal Finance Minister Dr Miftah Ismail has said that the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) will collect Rs3,935 billion tax revenue by the end of current fiscal year.
“We have more than doubled the tax collection during last five years. For the next year we have set Rs4.45 trillion revenue collection target”, he said while addressing a post-budget seminar organised by the Southern Regional Committee of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Pakistan (ICAP) here at a local hotel.
He said that the budget presented by his government was appreciated by all, adding that anomalies, if any, would be fixed within two weeks. Government has reduced tax rates and now everybody will have to come into tax net, he added.
Only 1.2 million out of the total population of 200 million people pay tax. “Salaried class has been provided with tax relief in the budget which would reduce government’s revenue but it will have long term impacts as more people will opt to come in tax net”, Ismail told the gathering.
The finance minister said that the country would have to go to IMF for financial assistance if the government fails to curtail trade deficit.
However, Dr Miftah Ismail said that there would be no need to resort to IMF programme due to the measures taken by the incumbent government. “I am leaving the goods in order by May and if the next government (caretaker) keeps the things as normal by June we will not be required to go to IMF”.
“What IMF wants us to do if we do that then there would be no need for the programme. We need to correct our financial affairs by increasing exports and reducing imports,” he emphasised.
“We are targeting the inflation rate to be 6 percent for the next year and GDP rate of 6.15 percent, and nominal GDP is expected to be around 12.25 percent. The government expects 11 percent revenue growth”, he noted.
President ICAP Riaz A Rehman Chamdia and chairman Fiscal Laws Committee ICAP Ashfaq Tola also spoke on the occasion.
In his address, Chamdia hailed the federal government budget and hoped that this will help businesses grow further. ICAP is striving for better financial management of institutions to play their role in economic growth.
