ISLAMABAD - Pakistan Hi Tech Hybrid Seed Associa­tion (PHHSA) Chairman Shahzad Ali Malik on Sunday said to build tax capacity, governments would urgently need to take a holistic and institu­tion-based approach with focus on leveraging core domestic tax policies. Talking to a delegation of industrialists here, he called upon the govern­ment to implement bold reform plans and focus on tax base broadening through the rationalisa­tion of tax expenditures, more neutral taxation of capital income, and bet­ter use of taxes. Shahzad said this multi-pronged approach, over the long term, could balance eq­uity and efficiency con­siderations. He said gov­ernment must improve the design and adminis­tration of core domestic taxes—value-added tax­es, excises, income taxes, and corporate income taxes. The chairman said revenue in low-income countries, for instance, could be doubled by limiting preferential treatments and improv­ing compliance without increasing standard tax rates. The widespread adoption of digital tech­nologies would result in higher revenue collection and narrow compliance gaps, he added. He urged the government would prioritise and coordinate reforms carefully across the government’s agen­cies as the broader insti­tutional context matters. This created a virtuous circle by which enhanced institutions improve state capacity, which in turn in­creases the quality of tax design and its acceptance by citizens, he observed.