Pakistan’s Prime Minister, Shahbaz Sharif, has announced honors for top taxpayers and exporters. These include blue passports and Pakistan Honors Cards, recognizing them as national heroes.
At the Excellence Award ceremony, Sharif praised these contributors for boosting Pakistan’s exports. He highlighted their achievements in small and medium enterprises and lauded women excelling in business and non-traditional exports.
Sharif stressed the need for private and government sector collaboration to overcome economic challenges. He advocated for a conducive business environment and the elimination of bureaucratic hurdles. He emphasized that the government’s role is to facilitate business, not conduct it.
Sharif addressed the need to reduce reliance on expensive oil for electricity production. He proposed utilizing surplus electricity by the industry to enhance production and minimize losses.
Sharif announced plans for the reformation of the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR). A consultant will be appointed in April for its full digitization. He noted that the current year’s tax collection is 900 billion rupees, 9 percent of the total GDP, the lowest in the region.
Sharif suggested that imposing more taxes is not beneficial and called for a reduction in the tax slab. He mentioned the need for innovative tax measures and the resolution of cases tied up in litigation, amounting to 2700 billion rupees.
Sharif stated that the highest taxpayers and exporters would be given the status of honorary ambassadors abroad. Pakistani embassies worldwide are instructed to assist them fully. He mentioned that exporters have refunded 65 billion rupees and urged that this should be handled routinely.
The ceremony concluded with a guard of honor presented by the Islamabad Police to the highest tax-paying individuals, companies, and exporters.
