In Islamabad, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has put forth a demandfor Pakistan to present a tax collection plan amounting to Rs 6,670 billionby June 2024. This request was made, as reported by ARY News, on Saturday.
An IMF review mission arrived in Pakistan on Wednesday night to evaluatethe country’s economic performance for the first three months of thecurrent fiscal year, spanning from July to September.
The IMF has stipulated that the tax collection report should encompass allsectors as part of its projection report. Negotiations for the nextinstallment, a $700 million tranche, began on Thursday. Sources indicatethat the IMF team emphasized the need for the Federal Board of Revenue(FBR) to meet its revenue targets without falling short.
The IMF team has also summoned a report from the FBR, to be delivered onMonday, concerning the progress of tax cases pending in courts. The FBR hasshared information about one million new taxpayers added to the tax netwith the IMF team, which, in turn, has requested a breakdown of taxrevenues collected from each sector. In discussions, taxation officialsexplored the possibility of increasing the number of taxpayers from 4.9million to 10 million.
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The IMF has remained firm on its revenue collection targets and hasencouraged revenue generation through the expansion of the taxpayer base.The FBR is expected to submit its report on this matter on Monday.
The IMF review mission is being led by Nathan Porter, the IMF’s countrychief. Sources from the finance ministry had previously noted that Pakistanhad fulfilled all the conditions set by the IMF for the review talks withinthe context of the $3 billion standby arrangement (SBA).