Minister orders depts to widen tax net to increase revenue

LAHORE:Finance Minister Mohsin Laghari has asked the departments to widen tax net for revenue increase.

Chairing a meeting of Resource Mobilisation Committee for the financial year 2023-24 in the Finance Department here on Wednesday, the minister said, “Along with the construction of new infrastructure, maintenance and repair of the existing infrastructure are also necessary. The government depends heavily on revenue to improve the condition of public hospitals, schools and roads. Departments should therefore ensure the widening of the tax net to increase revenue. Registration of vehicles plying on the roads should be made mandatory in Punjab. The closure of toll plazas should be abolished. Punjab Revenue Authority should prepare a negative list instead of a positive one. The inclusion of all services in the tax net will reduce the burden on taxpayers. Property tax exemption should be decided based on property value rather than area. There is no justification for exempting wealthy widows from tax. Cabinet and institutions should advise the public about the need and importance of tax money.”

The meeting was attended by the Secretary Finance, Secretary Excise, Member Board of Revenue, Secretary Irrigation, Chairman Punjab Revenue Authority and related departmental officers. The finance secretary informed the minister about the targets set for the tax departments and the revenue details in the first quarter and added that the Punjab Revenue Authority has collected 31 percent of the tax in the first three months of the current financial year compared to the previous year.

The PRA collected 14 billion 24 crore rupees in tax in September, which is 18pc more than the 12 billion 11 crore rupees collected during the same period last year, he added. The minister directed the departments, including the Punjab Revenue Authority, to improve the collections by bringing the defaulters into the tax net.

Address public concerns about the performance of institutions as the relationship between the people and the institutions must be improved. Until the tax collecting institutions do not change the corruption and aggressive behavior, the increase in the collection is not possible, the minister said.