Asad Umar signals tax reforms as Imran Khan prepares to take charge

As Pakistan braces to welcome cricketer turned politician Imran Khan as the next prime minister of the country, his close ally Asad Umar has signaled to bold tax reforms by the their government.

"Reforming tax collections will be central to our economic policies," Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) senior leader Asad Umar, who is expected to be the next finance minister, told Nikkei Asian Review.

According to Umar, who is the former chief of Engro Corporation, more than 90 percent of tax revenue comes from indirect taxes, which hit everyone uniformly, whereas, only 10pc comes from income tax. "This has to turn around," the incoming finance chief said.

Marred with economic woes, Pakistan is also subject to widespread tax evasion, where less than 1pc of roughly 200 million people pay income taxes.

Umar said in previously that quick decisions were needed to fix the national economy after the PTI forms government. He said decisions regarding exchange rate or monetary policy should be taken by the State Bank of Pakistan and not the finance ministry.

There should also be no political intervention, which, in fact, impeded the state institutions from performing their functions properly, he stressed.