KARACHI, Aug 24: Sindh government has proposed revival of octroi duty in the province to boost up fiscal position of local government institutions, which are facing hardships due to elimination of the duty. The proposal was made before the Revenue Resources Mobilization Policy Committee., headed by ex-CBR chairman Riaz Ahmad Malik.

The committee, one of the bodies which have been assigned the task of preparing five-year 2005-2010 working paper, on Tuesday held a meeting with Sindh Chief Secretary Aslam Sanjrani at the New Sindh Secretariat, which was attended by Senior member Board of Revenue Mirza Karim Baig, Finance Secretary, Malik Israr, Excise Secretary Abdul Subhan Memon, Research Economist Syed Ashraf Wasti, Additional Secretary Finance (Resources) Naheed Durrani, Secretary General Administration Ejaz Kazi and Chief Economist AG Pirzada.

Mr Baig proposed that a reduction in the tax rates would help generate more revenue. Besides, he also suggested introduction of a uniform tax rate in all provinces for a broad based tax system.

Mr Subhan Memon said that the Property Tax and Entertainment Tax had alrady been devolved, while there was a move to convert the Motor Vehicle Tax into road users tax. However, he said that two provinces had reservations in this regard. The proposed road users tax would facilitate the process of tax collection, he added.

Chief economist proposed that financial stability could be attained through investment in development sector, which would help provide relief in case of natural calamities.

Mr Israr stressed the need for coordinating efforts to remove flaws in the tax system. Earlier, Mr Sanjrani introduced Mr Riaz Ahmad Malik and said the province could benefit immensely from his guidance, as he had vast experience and had served Sindh in different capacities.