Murtaza Wahab ‘unhappy’ over Miftah Ismail’s statement

KARACHI: Sindh government spokesperson Murtaza Wahab has expressed regret over the statement issued by former finance minister Miftah Ismail against the PPP-led provincial government, ARY News reported on Saturday.

In a statement, the spokesperson noted that the former finance czar claimed the Sindh government does not collect agricultural and property taxes from the citizens, expressing regret over the statement.

“It is unfortunate that a person, serving on a position of finance minister, is unaware of tax-related matters”, Murtaza Wahab said.

He pointed out that Sindh Revenue Board (SRB) collects Rs160 billion tax annually after 18th amendment in the Constitution, adding that facts and figures should be checked before issuing such statements.

He also alleged that Federal Revenue Board (FBR) was not performing its duty accurately.

Earlier in the day, Miftah Ismail – while addressing a seminar in Karachi – said that the federal government must reduce its expenses and lamented that the provincial government does not collect taxes.

The former finance minister said Pakistan has reached to this state owing to the mistakes of last 75 years. “The IMF extended relief during Covid pandemic, but we repeatedly committed mistakes,” he added.

He said Shaukat Tarin on the onset claimed to give a budget without the International Monetary Fund (IMF) support. After it, he went to the IMF and announced mini budget, Miftah said. “Imran Khan violated the agreement with the IMF by selling petrol at below par price,” he said.

“I was jailed for installation of the LNG terminal that was the cheapest in cost. I was told by the NAB to testify against Shahid Khaqan,” former finance minister said. “The IMF offered relief during the Covid, but Hafeez Shaikh committed mistakes,” he said.