Policy note on reforming property tax launched

PESHAWAR: The Consortium for Development Policy Research (CDPR), in collaboration with the International Growth Centre (IGC), Sustainable Energy and Economic Development (SEED) and Government of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, launched a policy note on ‘Reforming Property Tax in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’ through a webinar.

The keynote speaker at the webinar was Ghazan Jamal, special assistant for Excise and Taxation, KP, Hassan Khawar, team leader, SEED, and Dr Ali Cheema, director Mahbub-ul-Haq Center LUMS. A press release says that the note presents a framework for reforming property tax in the province, with the objective to guide future reforms geared towards improving the performance of this important source of local revenue, and at the same time strengthening its link with urban service delivery.

The policy note was driven by SEED’s strategic priority to provide technical assistance to the provincial government, funded by Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO).

One of the main agendas of SEED, a multi-sectorial seven-year program, is to support the KP government in achieving economic development and undertake sustainable energy reforms in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

As a first ever note of its kind produced for the Excise & Taxation Department in KP, led by Ghazan Jamal as the special assistant, it provides a structure of key reforms for property tax in KP and

has been drafted in consultation with SEED’s partners, CDPR and IGC Pakistan.

The note has been authored by Dr Ali (Director Mahbub-ul-Haq Center LUMS and Lead Academic IGC Pakistan) and Ali Abbas (a PhD student at Cornell University).

Based on the recommendations of this note, the KP government plans to reform and strengthen the province’s Urban Immovable Property Tax (UIPT) system and lay the foundations for sustainably financed public investment that can realize the potential of urban areas as engines of growth and development.