Bailout Package: Provincial finance ministers meet IMF team

ISLAMABAD: The provincial finance ministers informed the International Monetary Fund (IMF) that the provinces have a better tax collection record, in a meeting held here on Saturday in connection with the bailout package, ARY News reported.

Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah, who also holds the portfolio of finance, talking to the media after the meeting with IMF team, said the provincial governments told that the provinces have a better tax collection record, adding that Sindh has a higher tax collection rate

The finance ministers of Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa provinces were also present in the meeting, Murad Ali Shah said.

The IMF team also held a meeting with Federal Adviser Finance Dr. Hafeez Shaikh, chief minister Shah said.

Federal Adviser accepted that the provinces are under pressure due to downward tax collection, he further said.

The provinces, however, informed the IMF team that their tax collection has been better in comparison to the federal government, Shah said, adding that the federal government has to work to improve its tax recovery.

Adviser Finance Dr. Hafeez Shaikh said that the provinces have given their proposals in the meeting which will be considered during the preparation of the next budget.

Earlier, the Ministry of Finance had asked the provincial governments to send their finance ministers to Islamabad for a meeting with the IMF team on Saturday (today).