Taxman told to enhance skills
In a major development, a National Assembly panel on Thursday linked approval of legal amendments to ban economic transactions by ineligible persons with tax machinery's ability to develop an independent and credible online platform to determine real value of people's assets.
The condition came a day after Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb said that the government may have to take Rs500 billion worth more tax measures, if the National Assembly did not approve the law to ban the economic transactions.
The committee would not pass the amendments related to the economic transactions until the members are satisfied that the Federal Board of Revenue has developed an independent and reliable online platform to assess people's assets, said Standing Committee on Finance Chairman Syed Naveed Qamar.
The government has proposed that only those people can buy cars, plots, invest in securities who have sufficient declared white legal resources to buy these assets and maintain bank accounts
The finance minister again reiterated on Thursday that the IMF has accepted Rs389 billion in collections on account of improved enforcement in the next fiscal year and for that the new legal powers were needed.
The National Assembly Standing Committee on Finance had last month linked the approval of the bill to ban economic transactions with the government's ability to develop a credible online mechanism where the eligibility criterion can be independently determined and verified without harassment by the taxmen.
PPP's MNA Mirza Ikhtiar Baig raised the issue of first assessing the credibility of the new platform to make sure that the taxpayers are not harassed by the FBR.
Finance Secretary Imdad Ullah Bosal announced before the committee that the government has decided to give a 50% special relief allowance to all officers of the armed forces and 20% to other soldiers, in a move that acknowledges their contributions in defense of the nation.
This brings the total increase in the salaries of officers of the armed forces to 60% and to 30% for other soldiers after incorporating the impact of the regular increase in their salaries announced on June 10.
The announcement was made before the National Assembly Standing Committee on Finance and Revenue that on Thursday began discussions on the Finance Bill 2026, which is the real budget.
The government has given special relief allowance equal to 50% of the basic pay scale to the officers and 20% to junior commissioned officers and soldiers, said the Secretary Finance.
The Leader of the Opposition in the National Assembly Omar Ayub Khan, who is also a member of the standing committee, asked about the fiscal impact of the special relief.
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