Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari on Thursday proposed devolving the collection of sales tax on goods to the provinces, arguing that provincial revenue authorities had demonstrated stronger performance than the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) and could help reduce the federal fiscal deficit while promoting economic self-reliance.
Speaking at a presentation on provincial governance at the Presidency, Bilawal said the Sindh Revenue Board (SRB) had consistently outperformed the FBR. He noted that the SRB collected Rs28 billion in 2011, compared to Rs10 billion collected by the FBR in 2010, reflecting a 68 per cent increase over federal collections at that time. By 2024, he added, the SRB’s collection of sales tax on services had reached Rs307 billion, with an average annual growth rate of 19 per cent, significantly higher than the FBR’s average growth rate of 10 per cent.
The event was attended by Acting President Syed Yousaf Raza Gilani, members of the Sindh cabinet, parliamentarians, representatives of the business community, diplomats, and media persons.
Highlighting improvements in the social sectors, the PPP chairman said Sindh had increased its health budget allocation from 2.9 per cent in 2008 to nearly 10 per cent at present. In education, he said the number of public universities in the province had increased from 10 in 2008 to 30, along with the establishment of 18 additional university campuses.
On poverty alleviation, Bilawal said the Sindh Rural Support Organisation (SRSO) had helped lift 1.4 million women out of poverty through soft loans, with a recovery rate of 98 per cent. Referring to the floods of 2022, he said around 2.1 million houses were destroyed across Sindh, prompting the launch of a large-scale housing programme to construct climate-resilient homes. Of these, 750,000 houses had been completed, while around 1.5 million were under construction, creating nearly one million jobs.
In agriculture, he said wheat seed worth over Rs2.1 billion was distributed to 215,000 farmers after the floods, resulting in a bumper wheat harvest of 4.5 million tonnes. He added that 198,000 farmers benefited from the Benazir Hari Card, while a Rs56 billion support package enabled cultivation on nearly 1.96 million acres. He also noted that Sindh operated the world’s largest irrigation system, spanning over 4,000 kilometres of canals.
Discussing infrastructure, Bilawal said Sindh had a road network of about 57,000 kilometres, including over 24,000 kilometres of newly constructed roads, and that four new bridges had been built over the River Indus since 2008. He added that public transport, once virtually absent, now facilitated daily travel for over 200,000 passengers, including through electric bus services.
He further highlighted energy initiatives, stating that Sindh had the potential to generate 50,000 megawatts of wind energy, with 1,845MW currently being produced. He said 200,000 solar home systems had been distributed, with another 275,000 households set to be solarised.
Bilawal also pointed to Special Economic Zones and public-private partnerships as key features of Sindh’s development strategy, citing projects such as the Dhabeji Special Economic Zone and the Thar coal project, where 71 per cent of jobs went to local residents. He concluded by noting significant environmental gains, with mangrove forest cover in Sindh increasing from 270,000 acres to a record 675,000 acres.
