This year will be a year of promotion and development of business activities: Prime Minister
Islamabad: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif says Pakistan’s economy is moving toward stability, expressing confidence that 2026 will be a year of economic growth and business promotion. He also directed the FBR to strengthen engagement with the business community and simplify the tax system.
A review meeting on FBR reforms was held under the chairmanship of the Prime Minister, in which a detailed review of the progress of ongoing reforms and improvements in the country’s tax system was taken. Addressing the meeting, the Prime Minister termed the business community as the backbone of the national economy and said that they will be provided with all possible facilities to increase production and promote exports.
Issuing clear instructions regarding the role of the FBR, the Prime Minister said that the FBR should fully cooperate with the business community and resolve their legitimate issues on a priority basis. The Prime Minister directed senior FBR officers to visit Karachi in the first week of every month so that direct contact can be established with the business community and their issues can be resolved without delay.
In addition, companies that comply with tax laws will be encouraged at the official level and their services will also be acknowledged.
The Prime Minister said that the ultimate goal of the government is to create ease of doing business, promote investment and exports and make the tax system more transparent and simple so that the confidence of the business community increases.
During the meeting, FBR officials briefed the Prime Minister on the performance and implementation of ongoing reforms. It was informed in the briefing that the production monitoring system has been successfully installed in the sugar, cement, tobacco, tiles and fertilizers industries, while the process of installing this system in the textile and beverage industries is underway.
During the briefing, it was informed that the production monitoring system has also yielded positive results. During the past one year, additional tax of Rs42 billion has been collected in the sugar industry, Rs38 billion in the cement industry, and Rs15 billion in the beverages industry.
The meeting was attended by Federal Ministers Azam Nazir Tarar, Ahad Khan Cheema, Muhammad Aurangzeb, Attaullah Tarar, Shaza Fatima, Minister of State Bilal Azhar Kayani, Special Assistant Haroon Akhtar, Governor State Bank Jamil Ahmed and other senior government officials.
