Newly elected Punjab Government will present eight month budget for the ongoing fiscal year in mid of October while instructions are issued to the Finance Department to prepare the budget, besides calling the resource mobilization committee meetings and taking all stakeholders on board before making important financial decisions.
This was disclosed by the Punjab Finance Minister Makhdoom Hashim Jawan Bakht chairing the maiden meeting of Punjab Revenue Authority (PRA) here on Thursday. The minister said that aggressive approach towards the taxpayers would be discouraged while progressive approach would be adopted for the promotion of tax culture in the province.
The officials of PRA including Chairman Dr. Raheel Siddique, Member Operation Javed Ahmed, Member Legal Kamran Ahmed, Member Policy Zain-ul-Abideen, Director IT Salman Zafar and officials of Finance Department attended the meeting. The minister said that accountability system would also be introduced in taxation system while broadening of tax base would be continued besides controlling the tax rate. He appreciated PRA in revenue collection and automation of the taxation system with small team of experts and suggested to keep expanding with same pace. He believed that drone survey system will improve the working of the PRA. On the issues faced by the PRA regarding human resource and revenue generation from telecommunication sector, the minister said that issues would be resolved after getting legal opinion on it. Earlier, Dr. Raheel Siddique briefed minister about the issues faced by the PRA related with input adjustment with the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR), Supreme Court’s decision on tax suspension from telecommunication services and others which are affecting the revenue collection targets. The minister appreciated the RIMS and other initiatives of the PRA besides suggesting effective use of social media to sensitize the public about taxation. He further instructed PRA to include the tax education information to elite school curriculum too likewise Punjab Textbook Board. He assured taking up the FBR related issues with Federal Finance Minister.