Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif emphasized the necessity of increasing income collection on Saturday, stating that hard effort would cause Pakistan to overtake India or even a larger economy.
His comments coincided with The News’ estimation that the cash-strapped nation’s tax evasion (revenue gap) is approximately Rs5.8 trillion on an annual basis for fiscal year 2022–2023, or 6.9% of GDP.
However, New Delhi announced this week that India had collected a record $25.15 billion in gross goods and services tax (GST) in April, a 12.4% increase over the same period last year, according to Reuters.
Speaking at a ceremony to present shields to the Federal Board of income (FBR) personnel who are truthful, diligent, and effective, Prime Minister Shehbaz stated that the nation has the capacity to raise over Rs 24 trillion in income, much above the yearly tax target of Rs 9.4 trillion.
Three times the annual revenue objective, he claimed, was “going down the drain” as a result of incompetence, corruption, and inefficiency.
According to the prime minister, countries that followed the theory of reward and punishment advanced.
The PM stated that Pakistan was dealing with a number of issues and that revenue collecting was one of the biggest ones. Our neighbors are far ahead of us in this regard.
The nation’s chief executive lashed out at the unscrupulous practices, saying, “Recoveries that should add to the national exchequer are prone to corruption and fraud.”
“We must approach the IMF and seek loans.”
The premier stated, “We will’separate the white from the black’ on the reports of agencies and the input of the organization,” alluding to strict accountability in the FBR.
The Prime Minister declared, “Justice is decided on the basis of merit,” and the government will not spare the corrupt officials.
“The FBR officials receive shields based on merit.”
He promised that the official would be promoted based only on merit.
Regarding the sum of Rs 2.7 trillion that has been pending in several appellate forums, such as commissioners’ appeals, the Appellant Tribunal Inland Revenue (ATIR), and other courts, he stated that legislation has now been passed to reclaim such sums.
“If even half of the Rs. 2700 billion that were stuck at various forums gets recovered, is this a bad deal?”
Referring to an additional sales tax scam worth Rs 756 billion that was recently discovered by the FBR, the prime minister stated that he had instructed the relevant authorities to take all necessary steps to retrieve the embezzled funds.
Prior to this, the prime minister expressed his pride in the abundance of sincere officers in the nation who could contribute appropriately to the growth and success of their country while handing out shields to the diligent and honest FBR officers.
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