"The focus of the government in the coming budget will be on taxation which is equitable," said Finance Minister Dr Abdul Hafeez Sheikh at a pre-budget seminar organised by local newspaper here on Sunday.
The Minister said: "It would be our endeavour not to put more burden on those who are already paying taxes. We will try to co-opt those who are under-paying, or are totally out of the tax net, to generate revenue collection during FY 2011-12."
"We have identified 0.7 million rich people who live in posh localities of the cities, spend two months in international travelling in a year, have multiple bank accounts, and do not have national (income) tax number. FBR has already sent notices to 55.000 such persons, while cases of others will be aggressively pursued to bring them into the tax net", he declared amid cheers.
Hafeez said that he has directed FBR and Finance Ministry officials not to accept any kind of political pressure in connection with collection of taxes and government dues.
Giving an example, he said that FBR Directorate of Customs Intelligence had recently found 4,000 influential people involved in sales tax evasion to the tune of Rs 7.5 billion. He said that on his instructions criminal cases were registered against these persons who have offered to pay their dues provided criminal cases against them were withdrawn.
"We are in the process of reforming and restructuring the Federal Board of Revenue specially to streamline the procedure of sales tax refund. Earlier, he said, there were dozens of offices dealing with refund cases. "Now, we have set up a single office to clear the refund claims," he added.
During the period from September 2009 to May 2010, 12,000 cheques of Rs 14 billion were issued to claimants, whereas from September 2010 to May 2011 45,000 cheques of Rs 38 billion have been issued, and the recipients did not pay a single penny as graft.
Dr Hafeez said: "The centre of our economic policies is to keep our exchange rate stable, balance income and expenditure, reorientation of economic growth and long term development of energy, industrial and agriculture sectors along with protection of recent economic recovery process."
He said it is the resilience of economy that it has survived several major economic jolts during 2010-11 ie devastating floods causing a loss of $10 billion to the economy, uprooting of 20 million people on the 1000 miles sprawling route of mighty Indus in 78 districts, destruction of standing crops over millions of acres, abnormal increase in the petroleum prices in the international market, international economic slump, alarming internal law and order situation and other issues relating to our security and sovereignty.
He said it was a positive development that the PPP-led coalition government would be presenting its fourth budget, only the 2nd time in Pakistan''s 63-year disturbing history. It is heartening that the coalition governments have learnt to function in a democratic manner. It is not a mean achievement that provinces have been given Rs 300 billion more funds for social and economic development of the people, he added.