ISLAMABAD: Adviser to the Prime Minister on Finance and Revenue Dr AbdulHafeez Sheikh said Wednesday that Pakistan has achieved importantmilestones in transparency and exchange of information.
Addressing the Plenary Meeting of the Global Forum on “Transparency andExchange of Information for Tax Purposes 2020”, organized by OECD, theadviser appreciated the technical support extended by the Global Forum andthe UK Government, which he said was instrumental in implementing theCommon Reporting Standard (CRS).
At present, Pakistan is one of the few developing countries among the earlyadopters of the CRS and began exchanging data with partner jurisdictions inless than 02 years, he added, according to press statement issued by theFinance Ministry.
The Adviser outlined that Tax Transparency and Exchange of Information(EOI) are powerful tools to enhance tax compliance.
“Pakistan is firmly committed to fighting tax evasion and other illicitfinancial flows and need more international cooperation for cross-borderassistance in tax recovery,” he added.
The Adviser also briefed the forum about the negative impact of COVID-19pandemic and measures taken by the Government to mitigate sufferings of thevulnerable groups.
During COVID-19, Government of Pakistan introduced “Smart Lockdown” tocontain the spread of the disease with the need to keep the economyfunctional.
The Smart Lockdown approach by the Government of Pakistan was acknowledgedworldwide. The Smart Lockdown allowed many businesses to re-open orcontinue operations on limited scale to lessen the adverse economic impactduring testing times. The Government of Pakistan gave cash payments to 15million families under “Ehsaas Emergency Cash Payments.”
Amid COVID-19, the Government has taken several initiatives to accelerateeconomic recovery. A relief package for Small Medium Enterprises (SMEs)shielded against insolvency and joblessness.
Similarly, a special package was announced to boost Construction sectorwhich included amnesty scheme, tax exemption and Rs 33 billion subsidy tostimulate economic growth.
Pakistan has registered an upward trend in foreign remittances and FDIduring first quarter of FY-2020-21.
The Government is firmly committed to correct fundamentals of the economythrough effective policy making and targeted reforms, he said adding theend goal was to achieve sustainable economic growth, he concluded.