ISLAMABAD, Tuesday, May 13, 2025 (WNP): Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Tuesday directed the authorities to intensify efforts to broaden the tax base and launch a stringent crackdown against tax evasion, emphasizing that sectors and individuals with the capacity to pay taxes must be brought into the tax net.
Chairing a high-level review meeting on tax reforms and revenue generation, the prime minister underscored the government’s commitment to improving tax collection through systemic reforms and enhanced accountability. He specifically called for strict action not only against tax evaders but also against any officials found abetting them.
According to a statement issued by the PM Office, Shehbaz Sharif praised the performance of the government’s economic team for putting the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) on track to meet its revenue targets for the ongoing fiscal year. He said that a broadened tax base would enable the government to lower tax rates on the general public, reducing their financial burden.
The prime minister also directed that the digital monitoring systems in sectors like cement should be fully operational by next month. He called for a coordinated effort with provincial governments to ramp up tax collection from the tobacco industry.
Additionally, he stressed the need for the expeditious resolution of pending tax cases to ensure recovery of public funds. “By the grace of Allah, the national economy is stable and progressing. It is now time for collective efforts for sustained national development,” he said.
Track & trace yields results
During the briefing, officials informed the prime minister that the Track and Trace System had been successfully implemented at cement plants nationwide, resulting in a substantial increase in tax revenues. A similar system in the sugar industry led to a 35% rise in tax collection from November 2024 to April 2025.
The reforms underway in the FBR are expected to help achieve a tax-to-GDP ratio of 10.6%, the meeting was told.
The meeting was attended by Federal Ministers Azam Nazeer Tarar, Muhammad Aurangzeb, Ahad Khan Cheema, Attaullah Tarar, FBR Chairman, and other senior officials.
Parliament informed on key economic indicators
Separately, during the National Assembly’s Question Hour, Parliamentary Secretary for Finance Saad Waseem Sheikh revealed that the FBR has registered 2.39 million new taxpayers through amendments to tax laws. As of April 29, 2025, the total number of tax return filers stood at 6.59 million, including over 106,000 Associations of Persons (AOPs) and nearly 94,000 companies.
Responding to another query, Sheikh stated that mobile phone companies collected Rs. 84.25 billion in taxes between July 2024 and March 2025, which were duly deposited in the national treasury.
He also highlighted that the number of Roshan Digital Accounts (RDA) opened by overseas Pakistanis has reached 805,009, with total deposits standing at $9.98 billion. The RDA facility allows expats to open accounts in 10 foreign currencies.
Pakistan-U.S. trade on the rise
Meanwhile, Parliamentary Secretary for Commerce Zulfiqar Ali Bhatti informed the House that trade between Pakistan and the United States had reached $7.3 billion, with $5.53 billion in bilateral trade recorded from July 2024 to March 2025. Pakistan’s exports to the U.S. stood at $4.34 billion, while imports from the U.S. totaled $1.19 billion.
A $3.15 billion increase in exports to the U.S. was recorded during the period, Bhatti said. He added that a technical delegation has been formed to engage with Washington on recent tariff issues, expressing optimism that reduced tariffs could unlock further export potential for Pakistan.
