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ISLAMABAD: Federal Minister for Finance and Revenue Senator Muhammad Aurangzeb on Tuesday pledged to restore public trust and credibility in the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR), stressing that taxpayer confidence, policy predictability and stronger enforcement were essential to building a modern and growth-friendly tax system.<\/strong><\/p>\n Addressing a two-day high-level workshop titled \u201cReforms for a Modern and Growth-Friendly Tax System in Pakistan\u201d in Islamabad, convened by the Ministry of Finance in collaboration with the International Monetary Fund (IMF), Aurangzeb said ongoing reforms had helped increase the FBR\u2019s tax-to-GDP ratio from 8.8 per cent to 10.3 per cent.<\/p>\n He also highlighted a 40 per cent increase in tax revenues over the last two fiscal years, attributing the improvement to stronger enforcement and new policy measures.<\/p>\n Explaining the increase in the tax-to-GDP ratio, the finance minister said 0.9 percentage points of the 1.5-percentage-point rise came from enforcement measures, while the remaining 0.6 percentage points resulted from new policy initiatives.<\/p>\n \u201cWe stopped leakage, theft and corruption,\u201d Aurangzeb said, adding that deeper enforcement would play an increasingly important role in the next phase of tax reforms.<\/p>\n He said the government was continuing to strengthen the tax system, broaden the tax base and improve revenue collection to support economic stability and sustainable growth.<\/p>\n Emphasising the need for a predictable business environment, Aurangzeb said the private sector required policy continuity to make long-term investment decisions.<\/p>\n \u201cWe cannot continue to give surprises to private-sector investment at every single budget,\u201d he said, stressing that consistency in government policies was essential to encouraging investment.<\/p>\n