Also lauds AI-based tax assessment success
ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Monday directed the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) to set up a dedicated helpline to assist citizens in filing their tax returns, emphasising that expanding the tax base while reducing the burden on the poor remains one of his government’s top priorities.
Chairing a meeting to review the digitisation of FBR, implementation of an AI-based tax assessment system, and other reforms, the prime minister praised the availability of simplified tax return forms in Urdu. He said digital invoicing should also be launched in Urdu to maximise convenience for taxpayers. “The focus of tax reforms should always be on the common man’s ease,” he stressed.
Shehbaz directed that all FBR reforms undergo third-party validation to ensure transparency, adding that tax returns had now been made extremely simple, concise, and integrated with a centralised database for public convenience. Salaried individuals, he said, would benefit the most from these reforms.
He further instructed the authorities to launch a public awareness campaign highlighting the ease of filing under the new system so that more people come into the tax net. Small and medium-sized businesses should also be provided special support to adopt the digital invoicing system, he added.
Separately, while chairing a weekly meeting on the shift towards a cashless and digital economy, the prime minister said bringing transparency to the economy through digitisation was among the government’s top priorities. He noted that digitising payments between government and citizens would not only increase transparency but also ease transactions for consumers.
He directed that the process of digitisation and cashless payments be simplified further, particularly for small and medium enterprises (SMEs). Shehbaz instructed that the appointment of the Board of Governors and Chairman of Raast—the country’s instant digital payment system—be completed by September, adding that experts in business and economics should be included in its board.
The prime minister also ordered that all State-Owned Enterprises (SOEs) be brought under the digital payments framework for greater transparency.
Meanwhile, Shehbaz Sharif expressed satisfaction over the Pakistan Stock Exchange crossing a historic 135,000-point mark, saying it reflected the business community’s confidence in the country’s economic policies. He noted that positive economic indicators showed the government was moving in the right direction, reaffirming that providing a conducive environment for businesses remained a top priority.
