PM Shehbaz sees Rs24tr annual revenue potential

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Saturday said that the country had the potential to collect revenues of over Rs24 trillion against the annual tax target of Rs9.4tr. He said that around three times the annual revenue target was ‘going down the drain’ due to corruption, inefficiency, and negligence. This huge amount, he said, could be used to pay debts and construct hospitals, schools, universities, and roads. Addressing a ceremony to award shields to the honest, hardworking, and efficient officers of the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR), the prime minister said that the time had come to separate whites from blacks and to make decisions of reward and punishment purely on merit, as no nation could develop without strictly following the discipline criteria for government officials. The premier pointed out that Pakistan was facing multiple challenges, including a low tax-to-GDP ratio and increasing external and internal debts. As regards the amount worth Rs2.7tr held up across various appellate forums, including commissioners appeals, Appellant Tribunal Inland Revenue (ATIR) and various courts, he said now the law had been made to recover such amounts.