ISLAMABAD, June 4: Tax authorities have warned the finance ministry that any major tax relief in the budget would toughen the Central Board of Revenue (CBR) task to achieve the proposed Rs576 billion revenue target for the year 2004-05.

Official sources told Dawn here on Friday that the CBR officials would have a detailed meeting with the finance minister next week to discuss and finalize the revenue target and various issues including the tax relief.

The tax authorities, however, formally conveyed to the finance ministry that the proposed target was over-ambitious and could not be achieved easily, the officials said.

According to these officials, the finance ministry was asking for raising the revenue collection target, which they believed necessary for balancing the budget. They said that the revenue collection of the current fiscal would be a yardstick to finalize the next fiscal target.

The finance ministry has sent various proposals to the CBR. The proposals were made by the Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP), Institute of Cost and Management, FPCCI and ICAP to increase the taxable income threshold from Rs80,000 to Rs150,000.

However, an important official of the CBR when contacted said that any relief measure will have a loss of revenue and that Rs576 billion revenue collection target for the next financial year would become unattainable if the government decided to offer different kinds of relief to the business community and the salaried classes.

"It does not mean that we are against extending any relief particularly to the salaried people," he said adding that the CBR officials were awaiting to have a detailed meeting with the finance minister to discuss various issues relating to the next budget.

The sources said that the reduction in personal income tax rate was on the card as had been directed by the Prime Minister.