Daily Times

ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister’s Special Assistant on Revenue Haroon Akhtar Khan said on Friday that the government believed in working with the business community to collect taxes and to broaden the tax base.

“We consider the support of traders and business community as a key to the government’s efforts for maximising revenue generation and resource mobilisation,” he said, while talking to a delegation of Rawalpindi Chamber of Commerce and Industry (RCCI) which was led by its senior vice president Nasir Mirza. The meeting was also attended by other office-bearers of the chamber. Khan said the government had increased revenue growth by 20 per which came out even better at 24 per cent during the month of November. “This is a positive trend and this must continue in coming months for the socio-economic uplift of the country,” he added. To a question, he said the FBR field formations were already in regular contact with the chambers and traders’ associations and this close interaction would be strengthened in coming months for the broadening of tax base. “The government does not want to burden the existing taxpayers and we are keen on finding new taxpayers,” he said. Speaking on the occasion, Rawalpindi Chamber’s senior vice presidents Nasir Mirza, Sohail Altaf, and Ahsan Naseem thanked Haroon Akhtar Khan for understanding their issues and for ensuring a cordial and conducive environment for the growth of small businesses.

Published in Daily Times, December 16^th 2017.