Central Board of Revenue (CBR) Chairman Abdullah Yusaf said on Sunday, Pakistan can attain high economic growth of eight percent in just two or three years provided the private sector played a active role.
Our growth rate can go up from the assessed 5.3 percent to 5.8 percent this fiscal year", he said while addressing a ceremony organised by Multan Tax Bar Association here.
President Multan Tax Bar Association Yunis Ghazi, Member Co-ordination Legal Saeed Ahmad Zaidi, noted chartered accountant Talat Javed besides tax lawyers, and customs and tax department officials were present.
Abdullah Yusaf announced that an automated system of tax assessment would be introduced to minimise tax officials-businessmen contact.
"After having achieved sound macro economic development thanks to the sustainable and good policies of President General Pervez Musharraf, Prime Minister Mir Zafarullah Khan Jamali and Finance Minister Shaukat Aziz, we are now focusing on introducing an automated tax system", CBR chairman said.
Abdullah Yusaf declared, not public but private sector was the main economic player. Public sector can go for mega projects like dams or improve infrastructure but main role has to be played by the private sector, he said. Pakistan can achieve high growth rate if the private sector, whether local or foreign, make investments and continue it on a sustainable grounds.
This, however, needed a conducive environment, a growth-oriented environment, and we are working on it", he added.
For automated system of taxation, we are going to simplify the system, and then to review the procedures to finally go for automation.
Let the system (automated system) work and improve the role of tax officials as facilitators", he added. "The process is the future. We have to do away with complications and to facilitate taxpayers.
Officers in CBR have already taken it as a challenge, they are mobilised about reforms.
Expressing concerns over de-registration of firms, he said, to improve corporate sector, he has asked the Chairman Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP) in a meeting to look into it and suggest what can be done to boost corporate sector.
He regretted that there were only just over one million registered tax assessees today with CBR, which included around 425,000 government employees.
This is only 1/10th of our potential and we have to increase tax base."
The universal self-assessment scheme was a revolutionary step of this government under which taxpayers were allowed to assess their tax.
CBR has a role in fiscal management and we have planned to introduce a growth-oriented fiscal policy to facilitate businessmen more effectively and encourage investment.