Efforts being made to bring more people to tax net — Miftah Ismail

ISLAMABAD: Finance Minister Miftah Ismail says the government has no plan to approach the International Monetary Fund for a bailout package.
Addressing at a post-budget news conference in Islamabad today (Saturday), he said the measures taken by the government since December last year, including changes brought to the currency market will help avoid another bailout package.   
He said foreign exchange reserves will further increase in the month of June. He said the government today secured one billion dollars financing.     
The Finance Minister said that the budgetary proposals for the next year envisage both relief and tax measures.  
He said efforts are being made to bring more people into the tax net and salaries of the Government employees have been enhanced in the new budget.
Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on Revenue Haroon Akhtar said FBR revenue has doubled during five years of present Government.
He said inflation has been kept at an average of 4.5% and fiscal transfers to provinces have increased from 1300 billion rupees in 2013 to 2300 billion in next financial year.
Haroon Akhtar said there would be tax audit once in three year while salaried class has totally been exempt from audit. A simplified tax return has also been introduced.
The Special Assistant also enumerated revenue generation measures proposed in the budget for the next financial year.
These include among others increase in excise duty on cigarette and cement, sales tax on steel, restriction imposed on non-filers in respect of purchase of property above four million rupees and gifting of property only to relatives.
He said there would be no tax on remittance worth 10 million rupees annually and NADRA data would be shared with banks to trace potential taxpayers.