IMF Asks FBR to Collect More Taxes From Pakistanis

The International Monetary Fund has asked Pakistan to raise its annual tax collection target from Rs. 5.8 trillion to Rs. 6.3 trillion for the fiscal year 2021-2022.

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has asked the Federal Board of Revenue to raise its annual revenue collection target to compensate for the non-collection of petroleum levies, reported a national daily.

So far into the current fiscal year, the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) has lost over Rs. 600 billion of potential tax revenue from petroleum duties. The IMF has said that the FBR will have to introduce additional tax mechanisms so that it can meet its annual target for the year.

The report said that these extra measures include raising the personal income tax rate by adjusting higher income brackets and withdrawing sales tax exemptions. Moreover, the FBR has drawn up a list of a few dozen items on which regulatory duties may be increased.

The IMF has also proposed that the government increase the base price of the electricity tariff further by Rs. 1.40 per unit. It also recommended that Pakistan amend the National Electric Power Regulatory Authority law, under which automatic adjustments should be done without the intervention of the government.

The two major issues currently under discussion are fiscal sustainability and finding solutions to deal with losses in the energy sector.

Meanwhile, the Chairman of the FBR, Dr. Muhammad Ashfaq, said that the IMF is satisfied with Pakistan’s revenue collection in the first quarter of FY 2021-2022.

He told journalists at the Parliament House on Thursday that the FBR’s revenue collection in the first quarter of FY 2021-2022 reached Rs. 1,395 billion, which surpassed its target of Rs. 186 billion. He was also confident that the FBR will achieve its annual tax target for the current fiscal year.



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