Islamabad: The World Bank (WB) has approved a sum of USD 518 million (PKR 79 billion) to aid Pakistan in its revenue-generation efforts, a news source reported.
The federal and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) governments will invest the approved funds in two projects to reduce compliance cost. According to WB’s Country Office, this initiative is aimed at provision of better services to the people.
Out of the total amount, WB has approved a grant of USD 400 million to the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) for initiating tax reforms and the remaining USD 118 million for KP Revenue Mobilisation & Public Resource Management Project.
With the loan for tax reforms, FBR aims to increase the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) ratio from 13% to 17% and increase the number of income tax return filers up to 3.5 million by 2024. The agency’s goals also include decreasing the number of hours per year for paying income taxes and introducing customs reforms.
Meanwhile, the KP government will utilise funds worth USD 118 million to increase its capacity of revenue collection and to manage the resources allocated to the province.
