Dar urges FBR to boost tax revenue collection efforts

Federal Minister of Finance Ishaq Dar, has encouraged the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) to increase tax collection efforts so that the country can realise its full revenue potential.

Dar presided over a discussion on the FBR’s revenue performance in the Finance Division on Tuesday.

According to a statement issued by the Ministry of Finance, FBR Chairman Asim Ahmad provided a detailed presentation on the FBR’s income targets and performance from July 2022 to March 2023.

“It was stated that FBR will make every effort to meet its targets in the remaining months of the fiscal year,” according to the statement.

Dar expressed his delight with the FBR and pledged his full support to assist it in carrying out its revenue collection tasks while reiterating that the FBR team’s efforts to unlock the country’s genuine tax potential must be increased.

SAPM Financial The conference was attended by Tariq Bajwa, SAPM on Revenue, Tariq Mehmood Pasha, Chairman FBR, and other top officers from the Finance Division and FBR.

Pakistan, which continues to face numerous economic issues, has a low tax-to-GDP ratio. According to figures from the Ministry of Finance, Pakistan’s tax-to-GDP ratio fell by 0.4% in the first half (July-December) of the current fiscal year to 4.4%, down from 4.8% in the same time last year.

Previously, it was revealed that the federal tax collecting authority experienced a large shortfall of Rs304 billion between July and March of 2022-23.

It was discovered that Rs5,156 billion was collected provisionally in the first nine months of the current fiscal year, compared to the allotted objective of Rs5,460 billion for July-March (2022-23), resulting in an Rs304 billion deficiency.

Dar previously stated that Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) had guaranteed the International Monetary Fund (IMF) that they will assist Pakistan.

The minister stated that Saudi Arabia had conveyed to the IMF $2 billion in financing for Pakistan, while the UAE had affirmed $1 billion in support. He noted that the Pakistani government had met all of the IMF’s conditions for reviving the loan deal.

He also stated that all of the prerequisites for a Staff Level Agreement (SLA) between Pakistan and the IMF had been met.

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