By Finance Minister Aurangzeb Mubarak Zeb Khan
ISLAMABAD: In a bid to preempt countrywide unrest, Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb on Tuesday constituted a high-level committee to hold consultations with traders on budgetary measures aimed at documenting the economy.
The multi-stakeholder committee will conduct a 30-day consultation process to develop a consensual and actionable proposal, which will be submitted to Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and the federal cabinet.
According to sources present at the meeting, officials from various ministries clarified that the new tax amendments are primarily intended to curb large-scale sales tax fraud. The committee will only consider trader concerns that are deemed genuine and substantiated, the officials added.
Traders were firmly told that the government remains committed to documenting the economy and discouraging cash-based transactions. Several trade associations have already called for strike actions in protest against the new measures.
Committee tasked with addressing concerns over tax ref