Miftah Ismail lauds FBR for record tax collection

ISLAMABAD: Finance Minister Miftah Ismail on Wednesday appreciated the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) for collecting Rs490 billion in taxes in the month of May which is up by 27% as compared to the last year, ARY News reported.

Taking to Twitter, the finance minister wrote: “I congratulate Chairman Asim Ahmed & the FBR team for tax collection of Rs 490b in May, 2022, an increase of 27% or Rs 103b over last year. This is without any sales tax on petroleum products. We provided Rs 30b in refunds to taxpayers, an increase of 44% or Rs 9bn over last year.”

I congratulate Chairman Asim Ahmed & the FBR team for tax collection of Rs 490b in May, 2022, an increase of 27% or Rs 103b over last year. This is without any sales tax on petroleum products. We provided Rs 30b in refunds to taxpayers, an increase of 44% or Rs 9b over last year.

— Miftah Ismail (@MiftahIsmail) June 1, 2022

The Federal Bureau of Revenue (FBR) has released tax collection details for the fiscal year 2021-22.

According to the data issued by FBR, the tax collection for the year 2021-22 was Rs5349 billion. The number is expected to be higher after the addition of payment receipts, and final recollection by the State Bank of Pakistan.

The collection is 28.4% higher than the collection at the same time last year. Tax collection at the same time last year was Rs4164 billion.

An amount of Rs490 billion was collected in taxes in May 2022 which is 26.8% higher than May 2021. The tax collection in May 2021 was Rs387 billion.

It is pertinent to mention here that in response to a question regarding India procuring oil from Russia during an interview with CNN, the federal minister said, “If Russia offered us oil at a cheaper rate and if there were no sanctions on Pakistan buying that oil, then surely we will consider that.

Miftah Ismail went on to say that the federal government is in consultation regarding the import of wheat. “The previous regime was considering procuring oil from Russia,” he added.

The finance minister said that Russia did not respond to the previous government’s letter. “We would be happy to buy wheat from Ukraine and Russia — whichever country can sell us the commodity,” Miftah noted