ISLAMABAD Finding it hard, in the given economic as well as political scenario, to introduce additional revenue measures as recommended by the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the Government is actively contemplating to impose a war tax. Despite the revenue shortfall, so far, and growing expenses on the war against terrorism, the Government is still trying to avoid any new taxation within the current financial year, a senior government official told this scribe here on Monday. However, requesting anonymity, he added that revenue collection in the month of March would clear the revenue situation whether or not the Government would require imposing any additional tax. In case the Government had to collect additional revenues to meet both the annual targets as well as the rising cost of the war on terror, there would be no other option but to tax more in the last quarter of the current financial year, the official said, adding the Government would name it as a war tax in order to avoid criticism on the would-be mini-budget. Besides the revenue position by the end of the current quarter of the ongoing financial year, the fate of pending US money under the Coalition Support Fund would also matter in decision about the imposition of a war tax. Until the recent favourable statement of US envoy Holbrooke about the partial release, the Americans had remained steadfast in saying that no money would be released before the audit of the previous disbursements. Of late, the official said, the Government has been trying to convince the Americans that the audit would not reject the entire amount of $2 billion. Therefore, the US administration should release at least a part of the outstanding amount. Unless the entire amount of $2 billion pours in before June 30, 2010, the Government would have to go for additional revenue measures that would be in the form of a war tax, the official maintained. In recent meetings, the IMF after reviewing the progress of the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) in the first half (July-December) of current financial year had shown disappointment and concerns. The IMF officials were of the view that it would be difficult for Pakistan to achieve the annual target of Rs 1,380 without additional measures. The Government has already retreated on the revenue target that was initially jacked up after the first second review with the IMF to Rs 1,396. We have convinced the IMF that we would achieve the target of Rs 1,380 without additional tax measures, a senior FBR official said. In the first seven months of 2009-10, FBR accumulated around Rs 690 billion against the target of Rs 720 billion showing a shortfall of Rs 30 billion.