Prime Minister Imran Khan expressed dissatisfaction with the current state of administrative affairs in the country while addressing the FBR officials on Wednesday. PM Khan reiterated that expansion in tax collection is the government’s foremost agenda.
He explained to the officials that currently, the government lack funds to invest in welfare projects for the people. They inherited a weak economy and hence all the available funds were soaked up to pay the debts.
Prime Minister Imran Khan addressing the FBR Officers, at PM Office Islamabad. pic.twitter.com/VJdFHwHR9e
— Government of Pakistan (@GovtofPakistan) November 13, 2019
PM Khan asserted a surge in tax revenue is inevitable to run a country smoothly and FBR must take appropriate and tangible steps to shore up the tax collection and meet the target of earning Rs5.5 trillion tax revenues for 2019-2020. He directed FBR to increase the confidence of the business community to pay taxes by introducing an easy tax payment system and instructed the officers of Grade 21 and 22 to make decisions regarding the reform within FBR after consulting the FBR officials.
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Prime Minister Imran Khan urged that the Pakistani nation is counted among the most charitable people but with a concerted effort FBR can motivate people to pay taxes according to the national duty. One of the key motivating factors is to make people believe that the tax money collected will be spent on their welfare.
Addressing officers of FBR in Islamabad,Prime Minister Imran Khan has assured that the money collected from the taxpayers will not be misused. pic.twitter.com/6zmzqtgamP
— Ministry of Information & Broadcasting (@MoIB_Official) November 13, 2019
However, PM Khan’s dissatisfaction over the state of affairs in the country stems from the botched administration of PTI in its maiden year. A substantial economic downfall and all the economic indicators touched a red line soon after PTI came to the center.
PTI’s First 100 Days
PM Khan’s grand promises included introducing major reforms and providing economic relief to people in his first 100 days, but economic and political upheaval deteriorated the setup more than anticipated.
The acceleration of accountability process, empowering people at the grass-root, transforming bureaucracy, reforming the police department, strengthening the internal and external security of Pakistan, providing employment to thousands of people and uplifting the agricultural sector of Pakistan were some of the mighty promises Imran khan claimed to achieve in his first 100 days.
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PTI, however, is swiftly heading on one of its promises since the beginning of the term- the boost in tourism. PTI’s achievement includes the recent inauguration of Kartarpur Corridor within the eight months since the announcement of the project.
PTI is achieving impressive milestones in unlocking Pakistan’s tourism potential. Soon after the opening of the Kartarpur Corridor, the government is preparing to restore 400 Hindu temples across Pakistan to facilitate Hindu devotees. Though not in 100 days, a score of state properties in northern areas has been opened for the public.
Prime Minister of Pakistan Imran Khan addressing Officers of the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) in Islamabad (13.11.19) @ImranKhanPTI 1/3 pic.twitter.com/hBAH7ERyAf
— PTI (@PTIofficial) November 13, 2019
Though Imran Khan is adamant to achieve his promises but structural impediments, a staunch political opposition partially hampered Imran Khan’s progress to achieve the agendas in the first 100 days. The inexperienced administration of PTI was also responsible for the failure with frequent cabinet shuffles disturbing the governance in government departments.
More than a year to PTI’s government, the economy has now started showing signs of improvement, with Pakistan Stock Exchange regaining its momentum, a rise in the country’s exports and considerable stability in Dollar-Rupee parity.