ISLAMABAD - Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi said that government would announce one time tax amnesty scheme, while special measures would be taken to enhance tax collection and widen tax base.
Sharing some details at Pakistan Economic Forum in Islamabad on Wednesday, premier Abbasi said the government has planned to lower the tax slabs for the individual taxpayers. He said minimum threshold of taxable income will also be increased.
Prime Minister further said that government was working on a multipronged strategy to reform the country's tax structure with main focus to widen the tax base and to make the tax collection mechanism efficient.
Abbasi said enhancing tax collection is vital to provide incentives and services to the people of the country.
The Prime Minister said, “They have given an incentives package to the exporters but more needs to be done to make local industries competitive. We need to achieve exports above fifty and sixty billion dollars.”
He said over the last four and a half years, overall law and order situation in the country has improved to a great extent due to the sacrifices rendered by security forces of the country. He said despite political instability and turmoil, the energy crisis has been resolved.
Shahid Khaqan Abbasi said that multi-billion dollars China-Pakistan Economic Corridor project throws a great opportunity in the way of Pakistan. He was confident that special economic zones under the corridor project will generate economic activities in the country.
Meanwhile, talking to Pakistan Muslim League (Nawaz) leaders from Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA), Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi said that the development and progress of these areas was on priority list of the government. Led by Minister of State for Safron Ghalib Khan the party delegation called on Prime Minister and discussed the issues and problems facing the people of the areas.
The prime minister said the process of FATA reforms was already underway and said it would be accomplished as per the wishes of the people.
He said the government believed that the reform and the merger process of FATA should be completed in steps so that if any issue crops up, those would be resolved timely.
He said the government believed that the people of FATA needed to be brought to the mainstream by launching a comprehensive development programme.
He said the government was determined to provide health, education, employment other basic facilities to the people of Pakistan, similar to those in the other developed areas of the country.
The meeting discussed in detail FATA reforms, construction and development projects and the issues related to the common man.
The delegation was appreciative of the end of the black laws in FATA that plagued the region for past several decades and for taking practical measures for the improvement of infrastructure and lifestyle of the people.
Meanwhile, a delegation of Rural Support Programme Network, headed by its chairman Shoaib Sultan Khan, called on Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi at Prime Minister’s Office.
Shoaib Sultan Khan briefed the Prime Minister about the functions and working of Rural Support Program Network that helps the poor break off shackles of poverty thorough fostering a three-tier social mobilisation network. Shoaib Sultan said that the holistic approach followed by RSPN, including social networking, capacity building and human resource development, offering micro credit facility, infrastructure development, and provision of technical assistance along with necessary linkages has yielded positive results in various countries of South Asia in poverty reduction and enabling the poor earn their livelihood on sustainable basis.
He also offered that trained staff and comprehensive network of RSP spread over the entire country could complement government’s initiatives to reach out and extract them out of vicious cycle of poverty.
The Prime Minister appreciated the efforts of Rural Support Programme Network and its contributions towards poverty alleviation in various parts of the country. Recalling the vision of the leadership of PML-N that started National Rural Support Programme in 1991, the Prime Minister said the government was committed not only to provide every possible support to the poor but also assist them in skill development and capacity building so that they are able to sustain themselves and permanently exit poverty traps.