Punjab Finance Minister, Tanvir Ashraf Kaira has said under the new National Finance Commission Award (NAFC), Punjab share will be increased more than Rs 100 billion during current year; however, there is dire need to increase province's resources by expanding tax net substantially.
He expressed these views while addressing the provincial parliamentarians during a pre-budget briefing session organised by Pakistan Institute of Legislative Development and Transparency (PILDAT) here on Thursday. He said the government would consider the suggestions given by the members of Punjab Assembly and they would include it in the forthcoming budget. "Punjab receives 81 percent of its funds from the federal government, and if there is a shortfall in federal revenue collection, its implication would be felt by the province and their budgetary estimates would be distributed accordingly," he added.
He said there was need to remove shortcomings of tax collection system and secondly there is need to increase the resources of the provinces to ensure the provision of funds for the development projects. Undoubtedly, there was corruption in contracting system and the quality of construction work was also not up to the mark. Tax reforms was imperative and it should not be delayed any further because resources were needed for completion of public welfare oriented projects.
He further said that as a nation they did not want to register as documented taxpayer. They should enhance their resources at every cost and evolve a comprehensive tax strategy. Punjab Law Minister, Rana Sana Ullah Khan, Chairman Planning and Development Board Punjab, Javaid Aslam, Punjab Finance Secretary, Tariq Bajwa and MPA Mohsin Leghari also spoke on the occasion.
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