ISLAMABAD, Nov 08 (APP): Adviser to Prime Minister on Finance and Revenue, Shaukat Tarin on Monday said that the government wanted to bring back Pakistan’s past economic glory when Pakistan was one of the four largest economies in the Asian region.
Back in the 1960s, “we were counted with economies like China and Japan, when we were economically strong” Adviser Finance said while addressing as chief guest in,’ Kamyab Jawan Convention’ jointly Organized by Islamabad Chamber Chamber of Commerce commerce (ICCI) and Kamyab Jawan Program in ICCI Auditorium.
The Adviser said that the government is focusing on human resource capital and Small Medium Enterprises ( SMEs), which would be the government’s top priority. He said that raising the tax-to-Gross Domestic Product (GDP) ratio to 20% could improve the country’s growth rate and provide employment opportunities to the youth.
The Minister said that the current tax-to-GDP tax rate in Pakistan was 9% which he said was very low and needed to be doubled to 20%. “There is no way out without paying taxes because we use the resources of this country, so taxes are obligatory on all sections, including traders,” he said.
He said that no one has the right to use national resources without paying taxes. The Adviser said the government was working hard on human capital and interest-free loans and skills development courses for young people, agricultural loans, home loans in easy installments and health cards are steps in this direction.
According to the vision of Prime Minister Imran Khan, we are taking important policy steps for the youth, he said. Shaukat Tarin said the young population is 60% of the country without which the country cannot move forward.
