Tax Amnesty Scheme to help expand tax net : Haroon Akhtar

Lahore : Prime Minister’s Assistant on Revenue Haroon Akhtar Khan said on Friday that Tax Amnesty Scheme was a big breakthrough and it would help expand tax net as collection of revenue had always been remained under pressure due to various reasons.

He was speaking at the Lahore Chamber of Commerce & Industry along with Minister of State for Finance & Economic Affairs Rana Muhammad Afzal Khan.

Haroon Akhtar said the government had made reasonable progress at economic fronts and took bold decisions in the larger interest of the economy. He said that consultation had been made with the stakeholders at vast scale to make upcoming budget friendly.

He said that business community had been given relief in rules and regulations wherever it was possible. He said that people having taxable income should give tax that would reduce burden from the existing taxpayers. He said the government had taken measures to make real estate sector documented.

State Minister for Finance & Economic Affairs Rana Muhammad Afzal Khan said that industrial growth was a must for progress. He said that government had formulated the budget for long term benefit.

He said, “We are trying to enhance revenue by improving the existing tax recovery system in the country.” He said that attitude of tax collection machinery should be friendly with the business community. He said that systematic efforts were being made to fill the gap between tax payers and tax collectors.

Rana Muhammad Afzal Khan said China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) was the road to economic development and prosperity, not only for Pakistan and China but also for the whole region. He said CPEC would help promoting agriculture sector of the country, besides promoting the other sectors of economy.

LCCI President Malik Tahir Javaid said that the introduction of broad based tax reforms in Pakistan had become imperative. He said that there was a dire need of harmonization among the provincial and federal tax collecting agencies.

Malik Tahir Javaid further stated that exporters were facing issues of shortage of working capital. All the backlog of refunds should be cleared within two months upon the filing of return.

He said, Alternative Dispute Resolution Mechanism (ADRC) should be strengthened by FBR as it was inexpensive, swift, and also eliminated possibility of rent seeking.

Projects like CEPC had the potential to stimulate local economy by increasing the demand of locally manufactured goods, he said and added that such increase in demand would not only allow full utilization of existing manufacturing capacity but would also encourage manufacturers to increase their capacity.

Senior Vice President Khawaja Khawar Rashid and Vice President Zeeshan Khalil also spoke on the occasion.

Mian Muhammad Ashraf, Sheikh Muhammad Asif, Mian Misbahur Rehman, Mian Anjum Nisar, Farooq Iftikhar, Shahid Hassan Sheikh, Irfan Iqbal Sheikh, Almas Hyder, Kashif Anwer and Executive Committee Members were present on the occasion.