Finance Minister Ishaq Dar Saturday chaired a briefing session to review the recommendations prepared by the Tax Reforms Commission (TRC). Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) Chairman Tariq Bajwa gave a detailed presentation on these recommendations also putting forth viewpoint of the FBR on the same. The recommendations among other measures for reforming the tax system, particularly emphasise simplification of laws, filing procedures and developing and promoting their Urdu versions for benefit of both the filers as well as the public at large.
The TRC also stressed the need for firmly establishing the IT regime to improve working of the tax system. Dar appreciated the hard work undertaken both by the TRC and the FBR. He directed that viable recommendations be prioritized and categorised for implementation in short-, medium- and long-term. The minister said that recommendations in the short-term category would be implemented on priority.
He said the government attached great importance to these recommendations. These would help achieve the government''s objective of promoting tax culture through enhancing the quality of taxation system and facilitating the taxpayers as well as encouraging prospective filers to become tax payers. Senior officials of the Ministry of Finance, FBR and members of the TRC attended the meeting.
Meanwhile, Dar chaired another meeting to review progress on reform process regarding the proposed Development Policy Credit (DPC) for equitable growth. Senior officials of Ministry of Finance, FBR, SBP, SECP and others attended the meeting. The finance minister gave broad guidelines regarding the proposed reforms activities aiming at enhancing the investment climate, capital market development, Enhancing Financial Inclusion, Corporate Governance, SOE Reform, Mobilizing Revenue, Improving Debt Management and Expanding Social Protection.
The minister urged the officials concerned to analyse the proposed reform activities and undertaking them within the given timeframe and in alignment with the policy framework of the Government. Dar emphasised importance of a well-co-ordinated effort by all the stakeholders for implementing reforms necessary to achieve equitable growth. He reminded the participants that having achieved economic stability, the government is now fully focused on achieving growth and employment generation.