*ISLAMABAD - **IMF high level delegation arrives in Pakistan for crucial dialogues.*
*A technical team of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has arrived in Pakistan to hold dialogues with the economic officials for the payment of the next tranche of $6 billion under extended loan programme.*
The technical team will stay for two weeks in Pakistan, whereas, the first session of the financial talks was held with the economic team today.
The recent visit of the IMF officials was made for the payment of next tranche from the international financial body likely to be dispatched in 2020. Sources said that the visiting team initiated dialogues with Pakistan officials over the tax system.
The officials of the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) briefed the technical team regarding the matters related to income and sales taxes besides holding discussion over the possibilities of retrieving more than Rs700 billion in term of tax collections.
The technical team urged the Pakistani officials to eliminate exemptions being given on income and sales tax to increase the collections. Sources revealed that the technical team will also review the tax exemption which had been given during the tenures of Pakistan Muslim League Nawaz (PML-N) and Pakistan People’s Party (PPP).
It may be noted here that Pakistan had received $1 billion from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) as the first tranche of bailout package for balance of payment support on July 10.