Chairman of the National Assembly Standing Committee on Finance, Syed Naveed Qamar, on Monday presented the committee’s report on the Finance Bill in the House.
Presenting the report, Qamar said the committee had finalized its recommendations on the Finance Bill after extensive deliberations and consultations with stakeholders, while assuring that issues raised by dissenting members would continue to be discussed after the budget process.
He said members holding differing views had submitted notes of dissent, which had been attached to the report and would be considered in future discussions to ensure that all viewpoints were accommodated in subsequent legislative reviews.
Qamar regretted the absence of opposition members from committee proceedings, saying their participation could have further strengthened the report. He expressed hope that future meetings on crucial economic legislation would witness broader participation so that alternative perspectives could be debated and reflected in policymaking.
He said the committee’s report, spanning around 17 to 18 pages, incorporated recommendations relating to various sectors, including the automobile industry, the mobile phone sector, and other industries that had expressed concerns regarding the government’s proposed taxation and digitization measures.
He added that while reforms such as faceless customs assessment and other automated systems were aimed at improving efficiency and transparency, Pakistan still needed to significantly enhance its tax-to-GDP ratio to ensure sustainable governance and reduce reliance on borrowing and fiscal deficits.
“The government cannot continue to run solely on deficits and loans. State expenditure must increasingly be financed through taxes collected in a fair and efficient manner,” he said.
The committee chairman emphasized that tax reforms should be accompanied by safeguards to prevent misuse of authority by tax officials. He said the overarching objective of ongoing reforms was to reduce discretionary powers and bring greater inclusion and transparency to the taxation system.
Referring to a proposal that would have allowed the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) direct access to taxpayers’ bank account information, Qamar said the committee had rejected the proposal in its original form. Instead, it recommended that any access to banking information should be routed through the State Bank of Pakistan and exercised only on a case-by-case basis when justified.