Sindh pursues progressive tax policy: CM

Shah directs revenue board to utilise resources to meet target

KARACHI: The Sindh government is pursuing a progressive tax policy, not a regressive one, as it is a cardinal component, said Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah. Consequently, no new tax was levied in the budget 2017-18, maintaining the standard rate at 13%, the lowest in any tax domain in the country.

Talking to Sindh Revenue Board (SRB) Chairman Khalid Mahmood, who presented him SRB annual report-2016-17, Shah said that the revenue target of Rs100 billion for FY18 poses an enormous challenge. He urged SRB employees to utilise all resources to achieve the target without compromising the organisation’s taxpayer-friendly image.

The standard rate was reduced from 14% to 13%, while the annual target was scaled up 28% over the previous year to Rs78 billion.

The ports and terminal operators, telecommunication, insurance and banks remained the principal contributors. Contract execution, franchise and constructions also provided increased revenues. Nonetheless a lot of areas remained uncharted and yet to be tapped into the system.

This report acknowledged the contribution of the taxpayers in the top 10 sectors. Nevertheless, enormous efforts are required to open up the services sector, predominately in the informal segment of the economy, to boost documentation and tax revenue, with the past nationwide experience not serving as a guide, stated the report.

Published in The Express Tribune, April 6^th, 2018.

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