Flood tax only for six months: Kaira

Information Minister says amount collected will be spent on rehabilitation and reconstruction activities.

ISLAMABAD: Information Minister Qamar Zaman Kaira has said that the flood tax is being imposed only for six months and the amount collected will be spent on rehabilitation and reconstruction activities in flood-stricken areas.

Talking to media on Friday, Kaira said the reformed general sales tax (RGST) has been approved by the provinces and the Council of Common Interests and is aimed at the progress and development of the country. He said the government will welcome positive suggestions and recommendations from the opposition.

Kaira said the government has brought reforms in industrial, tourism and agriculture sectors and with improvement in security, investment will also rise.

He said the government has tried to address fundamental problems of security and brought reforms in the constitution.

Answering a question, he said the government has objections to the method of survey conducted by the Transparency International and it should expand its surveys to cover every segment of the society.

Published in The Express Tribune, November 27^th, 2010.