Pakistan's Ministry of IT and Telecommunication is teaming up with the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) to rope in more taxpayers, especially those who haven't been filing their income tax returns.
The goal is to make the tax system more tech-savvy and efficient to boost the country's economy.
During a recent meeting, Pakistan's Caretaker Finance Minister, Dr. Shamshad Akhtar, highlighted the need to use technology to make tax collection stronger.
The government wants to collect more taxes, and tech is a big part of that plan.
The FBR chairman shared how they're automating and improving their tax collection system.
This is a crucial step to collect more revenue for the government.
Minister Akhtar stressed that the government needs to act fast to bridge the tax gap.
They want to make sure everyone who should be paying taxes is doing so.
The government is also focused on modernizing its financial systems.
This means bringing them up to international standards to improve transparency and accountability.
They're looking at data from different sources, like provinces and state-owned entities, to identify who's not paying their taxes.
The plan is to use this data to bring more people into the tax net.
Both the FBR and the Ministry of IT are committed to working together.
They're determined to digitize national data and expand the tax base.
The meeting ended with everyone agreeing to put in the effort needed to enhance fiscal governance and increase revenue collection.
The meeting was attended by important figures, including Caretaker Federal Minister for IT and Telecommunications Dr. Umar Saif, Chairman FBR Malik Amjed Zubair Tiwana, members of the Board, and senior officials from the Ministry of Finance, the IT Division, and the Revenue Division.
