Punjab government planning to establish provincial board of revenue

[Naveed Yaseen]

LAHORE (June 11 2009): With a view to simplify and resolve the taxation related issues faced by the business community, the Punjab government is planning to establish Provincial Board of Revenue (PBR) on the lines of Federal Board of Revenue (FBR), in the province.

Provincial Minister for Finance, Tanvir Ashraf Kaira revealed this while addressing a pre-budget seminar held at the Lahore Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI) here on Wednesday. A number of government department are dealing with taxation issues while the proposed Provincial Board of Revenue (PBR) would help bring efficiency in the working of the government departments on the one hand and would eradicate the menace of corruption on the other, he said.

He said the Punjab government has also decided not to build any new road in the province rather it would be allocating funds for the improvement of existing infrastructure and roads network. He said the upcoming Punjab Budget would particularly be focusing on the issues of poverty and unemployment as a set of recommendations to this regard had already been forwarded to the Punjab government. He said that in a bid to enhance agricultural yield in the province, Punjab Agriculture Research Board has been linked with the research institutes in China under a joint venture programme.

He also said the discretionary powers are being curtailed to ensure merit-based recruitment in all the government departments. He said that all measures are being taken to strengthen institutional framework in the province. He said the coalition government both at the federal and at provincial level was striving to give a vision to the nation through budget for the betterment of common man. Speaking on the occasion, the LCCI President, Mian Muzaffar Ali stressed the need for sincerity of purpose and the honesty to achieve the desired results. He said that strengthening of institutions is prerequisite to put economy back on tracks. He said that never ever in the past due attention was given towards this particular area and the time was fast running out to keep the house in order.

Dr Kawaja Amjad Saeed urged political synergy to get economic prosperity. Both the federal and the provincial governments should evolve a common economic programme for the betterment of masses. He called for optimal utilisation of resources by integrating research and teaching, as the proper utilisation of resources would not only be giving boost to exports but would also be helpful in handling the issue of prices of daily use item. Former Provincial Minister Shahzad Azam Khan, Senior Vice President Tahir Javaid Malik also spoke on the occasion.

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