‘Gradual effort will overcome economic challenges’

Government trying to bring new sectors into the tax net, instead of taxing the already taxed sectors: Hafeez Shaikh.

KARACHI:

The budget is not a remedy of all economic problems of Pakistan; rather it’s only a framework for the next one year, according to Federal Finance Minister Abdul Hafeez Shaikh.

Speaking at a conference about the upcoming budget on Saturday, Shaikh said, “I am not saying that all is good in economy,” he said. “What I am saying is that there are obvious challenges to the economy of Pakistan that many of us know and that we have to resolve gradually.”

On broadening the tax net, Shaikh said that government was trying to bring new sectors into the tax net, instead of taxing the already taxed sectors. “Government is cognizant of the fact that burdening the people in tax net is not the solution so government will not levy new taxes on the existing taxpayers,” said Shaikh.

Federal Bureau of Revenue (FBR) had identified 0.7 million potential tax payers and notices had been issued to some 55,000 individuals, requesting them to register themselves in the tax net, he said.

According to him, the government had done a lot of work on streamlining sales tax and many new sectors were being brought into the sales tax regime in the country.



Published in The Express Tribune, May 22^nd, 2011.