Federal Finance Minister Ishaq Dar has approved over Rs 1.29 billion as special grant for provinces. Out of this amount, Punjab will receive Rs 271.714 million, Sindh Rs 204.772 million, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Rs 313.680 million and Balochistan Rs 502.383 million for the July-September quarter of current financial year.
Meanwhile, Ishaq Dar chaired a meeting of implementation committee of tax reforms commission in Islamabad and said that revenue collection was being made taxpayer-friendly to promote tax culture in the country. He said the government was continuously trying to increase efficiency and effectiveness of the revenue collection process. The meeting was given an overview of the plan envisaging to implement tax reforms commission’s recommendations. The minister said the present government was fully focused on implementing findings of the commission.
In another meeting held on Sunday to review the matters relating to preparations of the next financial year’s budget, the minister said that poverty alleviation, overcoming energy shortage and development of basic infrastructure were top priorities of the government.
He said national security and rehabilitation of temporary displaced persons (TDPs) were also priorities of the government. He said the government was focusing on rapid and comprehensive development in the country. He expressed satisfaction over the results of last eight months of fiscal policy being pursued by the government. He said financial targets could be achieved by keeping balance in income and expenditures. The secretary finance gave a detailed briefing on income, expenditures and preparations for the budget of the next financial year.