Shabbar Zaidi new FBR chairman: PM speaks about taxation challenge, LG reforms

Prime Min-ister Imran Khan said on Monday that the government has decided to appoint Shabbar Zaidi as new chairman of Federal Board of Revenue (FBR). While taking to media persons here on Monday, the Prime Minister said that a group was resistant to change as well as increase in tax collection due to vested interest. He said that in his opinion Rs 8 trillion revenue collection by the FBR is not difficult and if needed, changes will be made to move towards higher revenue collection.
The Prime Minister spoke extensively on the need of new local government system to provide improved social facilities to the people through fiscal decentralisation to the tehsil and city levels. He stated that Rs 40 billion will be directly provided to local Punchiats in Punjab under the new local government system that would have 22,000 Punchiats in Punjab. Money will go directly to those villages to provide services to people through their own elected representatives.
He further stated that there would be direct election of Tehsil Nazim whereas mayors in the cities would be directly elected and they would bring their own cabinets. He said with the expansion of cities, facilities have shrunk there. He said that the revenue collections would be done by the cities themselves. The Prime Minister termed the local government system revolutionary, saying for the first time the government is transferring 30 percent development funds to the local governments, adding Rs 140 billion fund in Punjab will go directly to local governments.
The Prime Minister said the first and foremost priority of the government is to provide governance to people. He said that provinces have been unable to increase tax collection required under the 18th constitutional amendment and funds to the provinces are provided by the federal government, which lacks adequate funds. The Prime Minister said that viability of 18th constitutional amendment depends on success of local governments because it would help the provinces collect tax.
Foreign investors have great interest in Pakistan and a Chinese firm here is paying huge amount of tax while 20,000 Pakistanis are employed in it. The Prime Minister stated that the government has recently signed an agreement with a Chinese company that would be coming to Pakistan to invest in agriculture sector and the technology and method used by it would increase the country's agriculture output two folds and contribute to higher GDP growth.