House Will Be Taken On Board Before Availing IMF Loan: Umar

Minister for Finance Asad Umar told Senate on Friday that currently one million people are filling their tax returns and there is room to further enhance the figure to about three million.

The Senate resumed its session at the parliament house in Islamabad today with Deputy Chairman Saleem Mandviwalla in the chair.

Umar told the house during question hour that the new FBR chairman has been appointed and next week a meeting will be held with the FBR officials to discuss the implementation of the reforms strategy.
The Finance Minister said that Prime Minister Imran Khan will chair a high-level meeting on Monday to discuss issues relating to currency smuggling and money service providers. He said we have to take definite actions before the next meeting of FATF.

Asad Umar said the government has decided in principle to launch Diaspora and Sukuk bonds. He said some other initiatives will also be taken to improve the flow of remittances to the country.

Replying to a question, the Finance Minister said that the loan will be taken after taking the Parliament on board. He said a plan to this effect will be finalized in next one or two weeks and then it will be presented before the Parliament for discussion. He pointed out that exports saw decline and imports surged over the last five years, and the government had to obtain loans to fill the gaps. He said our effort is to address the root causes of the loans.