Chairman, Federal Board of Revenue (FBR), Sohail Ahmad has said that the initiative for the collection of value-added tax (VAT) was homegrown, not according to the dictates of International Monetary Fund (IMF).
Talking to media after inaugurating a five-day workshop on 'Integrated Tax Management System' at Directorate of Training for Inland Tax Revenue here Sunday, he said that the basic objective of broadening and deepening the tax base was to increase the revenue. "We want to increase the tax-GDP ratio which is presently very low as compared to other countries of the world," Sohail Ahmad said.
He said that an IMF team was presently holding dialogue with Pakistani economic managers. "IMF people have already held talks with me and are scheduled to call on again before leaving for Washington," he said.
Responding to a question regarding dismay expressed at Friends of Pakistan meeting about FBR's inability to achieve the revenue collection targets, he said that the targets are always integrated part of any federal budget.