Tax Reform Unit is the key contributor to the policy making process relating to tax policy and analysis for Government of the Punjab. The objective of the Tax Reform Unit which functions under the supervision of the Secretary Finance will not only strengthen tax policy and tax administration, but will also ensure a holistic view of Punjab’s tax system.
The major functions of Tax Reforms Unit include the following:
- Commission and coordinate tax policy analysis via outsourced tax experts for the Finance Department and three tax collecting entities i.e. Punjab Revenue Authority (PRA), Excise and Taxation Department (ETD), and Board of Revenue (BOR)
- To facilitate in developing Punjab Tax Revenue Mobilization Plan
- To collect data and perform surveys on economic and sectorial areas as needed
- Provide advice on the impact of existing and alternative tax policy on both provincial revenue collection and taxpayers, as well as any associated impact on the macro-economy
- Estimate the administrative and compliance cost associated with current tax system, as well as assessing the consequences of new tax measures for each PRA, ETD, and BOR
- Use micro-simulation models to estimate the level of tax incidence, efficiency of the tax system, and the extent of revenue responsiveness of individual tax types (sales, excise, property, and others)
- Conduct periodic performance reports on the major taxes (sales, excise, property, and others)
- Prepare monthly reports on the performance of revenue collections by agency (PRA, ETD, BOR,) and by tax type (sales, excise, property, and others), and providing explanations for anomalies and highlighting any emerging trends
- Produce an annual tax expenditure analysis for each tax type (sales, excise, property, and others)
- Examine fiscal federalism issues including estimating double taxation effects, fiscal decentralization from federal to provincial as well as provincial to local/district level
- Compare tax regimes of other subnational governments (within Pakistan and internationally) to gauge performance of major tax types in an international setting
- Conduct ad hoc research activities related to tax policy issues in response to requests from the three tax collecting agencies
- Disseminate the results on a timely basis, and ensure the results are incorporated into strategic plans of Finance Department, PRA, ETD and BOR