Nawaz Sharif instructs Finance Adviser Miftah Ismail to lower taxes

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GEO NEWS
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PM's adviser on Finance Miftah Ismail met Nawaz Sharif in Raiwind on Monday 

LAHORE: Prime Minister's Adviser on Finance, Economic Affairs and Revenue Miftah Ismail called on PML-N chief Nawaz Sharif in Raiwind on Monday, where the former premier instructed him to implement tax reforms to strengthen the economy.

During the meeting, Nawaz instructed Ismail to refund 100% sales tax to exporters by February 15 this year, and to reduce individual tax rate immediately to provide relief to the public – not keeping the rate more than 15 percent.

Nawaz also asked the Finance Adviser to ensure no income tax is levied on monthly incomes of up to Rs 0.1 million.

The PML-N chief also shared concerns of industrialists, saying that they were worried about gas prices and Gas Infrastructure Development Cess (GIDC), and asked Ismail to decrease the rates immediately so that Pakistani industrialists could compete effectively with those from rest of the world.

After being appointed as PM’s finance adviser late last year, Miftah Ismail had expressed resolve to take several measures for enhancing the tax net to increase revenue with the consultation of all stakeholders.

"We want to facilitate new tax filers and lessen the tax burden on middle class citizens for balancing tax distribution,” he had said, adding that the government planned tax reforms to focus on widening the tax base, simplifying tax structures, and slashing personal tax rates to encourage more people to file returns.