Tax Policy Office to be operationalised ‘in a few days’: Aurangzeb

Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb said on Wednesday the Tax Policy Office (TPO) would be operationalised in a few days to facilitate taxpayers, industrialists and the business community.

The finance minister said this while addressing a meeting of the Sarhad Chamber of Commerce and Industry (SCCI), according to a press release from the Finance Division.

Aurangzeb said the government was committed to broadening the tax base and advancing with a “focused approach” to make Pakistan an export-led country.

“The govt has simplified the taxation process and the Tax Policy Office would be operationalised in a few days to facilitate taxpayers, industrialists and the business community,” he was quoted as saying in the statement.

The federal cabinet earlier this month approved establishment of the TPO at the Ministry of Finance to build on the government’s economic reform agenda.

According to a notification from the Ministry of Finance, the TPO will lend support to the analysis of tax policies and proposals through data modeling, revenue and economic forecasting as well as the country’s international tax treaties and obligations.

The finance czar said on Wednesday that information technology and digitalisation were introduced in the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) to “save time and ensure more transparency in financial affairs”.

“The government is endeavouring for sustainable and inclusive economic growth.”

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The minister claimed Pakistan has been put in the “right direction” by the incumbent government and “great responsibility rests on the private sector to come forward and contribute richly in the country’s development process”.

“The private sector has to take a lead role in promotion of business and industrialisation in the country, especially in mineral rich Khyber Pakthunkhwa and Balochistan.”

The government would facilitate business and industrialisation to generate employment opportunities for youth and alleviate poverty in KP, he assured.

Aurangzeb stressed that prosperity could be achieved by creating a balance between revenue and expenditure.