WASHINGTON, June 13, 2019 – .
The $400 million Pakistan Raises Revenue Project will support the Federal Board of Revenue’s (FBR) focus to create a sustainable increase in Pakistan’s domestic tax revenue. . It will also support the FBR with technology and digital infrastructure and technical skills. This will enable more effective use of taxpayer information and more targeted compliance. The Government has set improving tax revenue with low compliance costs as a high priority.
“Revenue mobilization plays an essential role in Pakistan’s fiscal sustainability,” said Muhammad Waheed, Task Team Leader of the Project. “.”
Pakistan’s revenue performance has improved significantly from tax policy measures in recent years, rising from 9.5 percent of GDP in financial year 2011-2012 to 12.9 percent in financial year 2017-2018. This is still lower than the level needed by developing countries, of at least 15 percent of GDP, to fund basic government functions and provide services to people.
“Creating fiscal space through revenue mobilization is critical to reduce the country’s budget deficit, enabling people of Pakistan to benefit from better public investments and services,” said Illango Patchamuthu, World Bank Country Director for Pakistan.
The $118 million Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Revenue Mobilization and Public Resource Management Project will support the Government of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa to increase its capacity for revenue collection and the management of the province’s resources. .
While the government of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa has made progress in revenue mobilization and management of public finances, its revenues remain low. Enhancing the tax revenue could increase its capacity to provide better services to residents. It will also reduce its dependence on federal transfers, which accounted for 86 percent of provincial revenue in the financial year 2016-2017.
“,” said Raymond Muhula, Task Team Leader of the Project. “This project will support the government’s priority to increase its own source revenue and to better manage its resources.”
Both projects address the priority areas identified in Pakistan@100: Shaping the Future, a flagship initiative that identifies frontier interventions for Pakistan to become a prosperous country by 2047.
The International Development Association (IDA), the concessional financing arm of the World Bank, is financing both projects.
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The World Bank in Pakistan
Pakistan has been a member of the World Bank since 1950. Since then, the World Bank has provided $40 billion in assistance. The World Bank’s program in Pakistan is governed by the Country Partnership Strategy for FY2015-2020 with four priority areas of engagement: energy, private sector development, inclusion, and service delivery. The current portfolio has 32 projects with a net commitment of $8.4 billion.
Download World Bank Pakistan’s flagship report Pakistan@100: Shaping the Future at: www.worldbank.org/pakistanat100
