ISLAMABAD: The government had undertaken a comprehensive exercise soon after coming to power to eliminate SROs culture introduced over time favouring the elite, select groups and the privileged class, said Finance Minister Senator Ishaq Dar.
The step would ultimately benefit the lower strata of the society, he said addressing a meeting at the FBR on measures about elimination of SRO culture.
He said that Pakistan’s tax system had been riddled with distortive and discriminatory exemptions and concessions had been granted to vested groups over a long period.
He added, “Despite presence of strong and influential groups, the process of elimination and curtailment of exemptions had been initiated and in the very first year a large segment of this concessionary regime had been withdrawn or rationalised.”
“In the past,” he said, “all the reform efforts with or without IMF programmes failed in touching the concessionary regime but we went for ending it and have produced results that would benefit the people at large in the budget for FY 2014-15.”
