KARACHI: The government has informed the International Monetary Fund (IMF) that the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) is working to build a centralized fiscal cadastre (register) to introduce market value-based real estate tax.
The IMF has said in the ninth review under Extended Arrangement that continued tax administration reforms are important for further improving tax compliance and supporting revenue mobilization.
FBR is planning to further streamline tax concessions and exemptions, modernize the General Sales Tax (GST) on goods and services in close coordination with provincial revenue authorities.
The FBR assured IMF that it will start publishing the stock of outstanding tax refund claims and step up the processing of GST refunds and will accelerate the implementation of risk-based auditing, including the initiation of income tax audits for high net worth individuals ensuring data matching between domestic taxes and customs to identify noncompliant taxpayers and minimize under-declarations.
FBR continue to work with the provinces to build a centralized fiscal cadastre to introduce market value-based real estate tax, continue to take governance and anti-corruption measures at the FBR, including by establishing communications platforms to facilitate public reporting of corrupt practices in tax administration and seeks parliamentary ratification of the legislation against “benami” transactions and establish a tax policy research and analysis unit.
