LAHORE: Federal Finance Minister Ishaq Dar has said that one-month extension in deadline of the Voluntary Tax Compliance Scheme (VTCS) would attract more non-filers into the tax net.
Talking to media men at MoU signing ceremony between Sheikh Zayed Hospital Complex and University of Health Science (UHS) here at the UHS, he also underscored the need for separating politics from economic affairs, and added, “Every one, in his domain, must focus and contribute towards economic well-being of the country.”
Dar made it clear that the Voluntary Tax Compliance Scheme (VTCS) was not aimed, in any way, to allow people to whiten their black money, assets or jewellery, but to facilitate the non-filers to come under the tax net. He said that so far only 10,000 new filers had used the facility, and called for more efforts to remove the fears of the new filers.
“One-month extension in the VTCS deadline would attract more non-filers into the tax net, and hence more tax revenue would be generated,” he predicted.
To a question, the federal minister said that National Price Monitoring Committee had been entrusted with the task to assess the impact of fluctuation in the prices of POL on prices of commodities.
“The committee would monitor the implementation of prices in the country,” he said, adding, “The government would also set up model and Sunday bazaars in KP, Punjab and Sindh to ensure relief to the common man in terms of reduced prices of commodities. “However, overall prices in the country could not be lowered in line with the reduction ratio of POL prices,” he clarified.
Responding to a reporter’s query, Dar said the government had succeeded in convincing the opposition parties and removing their reservations over the PIA issue, asserting the PIA Amendment Bill would be passed in joint session of Senate and National Assembly to be held on April 11. “None of the PIA’s hotels or assets was being sold, but the government wanted to turn it into a profitable entity,” he clarified.
The minister said that Pakistan had made the LNG (Liquefied Natural Gas) import deal with Qatar at a very low price, adding, “It would contribute a lot in terms of catering to the country’s energy needs.”
On the appointment of OGRA chairman, Dar said that an 11-member committee, headed by him, had been constituted, which also included federal petroleum minister and cabinet secretary.
