Economic Reforms Package to provide relief to working middle class: Miftah

ISLAMABAD: Advisor to the Prime Minister on Finance Miftah Ismail Thursday said the Economic Reforms Package announced by the incumbent government would provide a sigh of relief to the working middle class besides widening tax rate in the country.

Talking to a private news channel, he said tax amnesty scheme was announced, under the reforms package, to bring more people in the tax ambit specially upper class of the country which was evading taxes.

Miftah said the package was announced through executive order of the prime minister, however, the ordinance would be presented in the Parliament and all legal requirements would also be fulfilled.

He termed amnesty scheme as a unique one in the history of the country as the main objective behind this scheme was to further strengthen the tax laws, he added.

He said Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) had been given more powers to ask questions with having check and after this July, non tax payers will not be allowed to purchase any plot in the country.

To a question, he said it had been agreed between the government and the opposition parties including Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf that the PML-N government would present budget at the end of April and important points would be discussed before time.

He said announcement by PTI chief Imran Khan for not presenting budget by Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government this year was astonishing as it was responsibility of the government to run affairs of the state.

He said as a result of the policies of the PML-N and special packages announced by the government, exports of the country had increased and reached upto 24 percent while imports remained at six percent only.