Pakistan PM rules out revision to tax collection target, reaffirms reform timeline
The government has set an ambitious tax collection target of Rs14,131 billion ($49.46 billion) for the fiscal year 2025-26 (FY26), reflecting a nine-percent increase over last year's goal.
Despite aggressive fiscal measures in recent years, Pakistan has missed its revenue targets, including in the previous fiscal year (FY25), where a 1.5-percent gap emerged between projected and actual collections.
'No changes will be made to the approved timeline for tax collection and reform targets for the upcoming fiscal year,' the prime minister said during a review meeting on tax reforms at the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR), according to an official statement issued by his office.
'A strategy should be developed through consultation between the FBR, relevant federal institutions and the provinces to increase the tax-to-GDP ratio,' he continued.
Sharif also highlighted the importance of enforcing already imposed taxes efficiently to help meet the targets and directed that obstacles to reform, including bureaucratic red tape, be removed to ensure the changes are institutionalized.
According to a briefing given to the prime minister, the government has made its online income tax return form available in Urdu for the first time, a measure that is expected to benefit nearly 84 percent of current filers.
The FBR also said it had met its July revenue collection target, the first month of the ongoing fiscal year, and expressed confidence in achieving future monthly goals.
Sharif called for greater public awareness of FBR reforms and instructed coordination with the information ministry to build public confidence.
He also emphasized the use of technology and digitization to modernize customs clearance, reduce delays and improve transparency.
'The effective and uniform implementation of revolutionary customs clearance reforms must be ensured across the country,' he said, calling for centralized digital enforcement stations and faceless customs systems to speed up assessments.
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