President Pakistan Businessmen and Intellectuals Forum (PBIF), President All Karachi Industrial Alliance (AKIA), Senior Vice Chairman of the Businessmen Panel of FPCCI and former provincial minister, Mian Zahid Hussain on Monday said FBR should be given realistic the target for the next fiscal. IMF’s conditions have resulted in the contraction of the economy to the tune of thirty billion dollars and expecting enhanced revenue collection by FBR in these circumstances is self-deception, he said.
Talking to the business community Mian Zahid Hussain said that withdrawal of zero-rating facility will hit production, exports, jobs and revenue, therefore, the FBR’s target of Rs 4.39 trillion for the ongoing fiscal should be revised downward while the proposed target of Rs 5.5 trillion for the next financial year should also be reduced.
The veteran business leader said that FBR will not be able to generate over Rs 3.9 trillion so there is no rationale in increasing its target by 36 percent. FBR’s collections have been reduced by Rs 447 billion during the last eleven months that will result in the introduction of may mini-budgets after the upcoming annual budget. The chairman of FBR recently said that only one percent of people are paying taxes but little has been done to improve the situation as only Rs 13.5 billion has been recovered from defaulters and rich non-filers during the last nine months.
Mian Zahid Hussain said that business community has pinned high hopes on the reputed Chairman FBR Shabbar Zaidi but we also understand his limitations. He demanded that the government should not put undue pressure on the FBR otherwise it will increase problems for the business community.
The former minister noted that all the stakeholders should join hands to improve the economy, expand tax net, reduce poverty and provide relief to the masses.
