New Delhi, February 7: After the Philippines showed interest in understanding the unique identification system- Aadhaar, India’s neighbour Pakistan also has plans to come up with an Aadhaar-like move to minimise corruption. According to a report by Bloomberg, Pakistan plans an Aadhaar-like move to broaden its tax base and build portfolios of potential taxpayers.

The report quotes Prime Minister of Pakistan Shahid Khaqan Abbasi saying Pakistan aims to increase the number of taxpayers in a country where less than one percent of its 210 million people pays taxes.  “It seeks to plug leakages, encourage correct property valuation, lower individual tax rates and offer an amnesty program”, Abbasi was quoted by Bloomberg in an interview in his home in Islamabad.

A report by Bloomberg informed that major lenders like International Monetary Fund have repeatedly shown concern over Pakistan's tax-to-GDP ratio of about 12 percent, which is among the lowest globally. In the past, attempts to force people to pay taxes have been met with resistance and strikes by businesses, while various amnesty plans announced -- including one eight months ago--failed to boost revenues. Now Abbasi wants officials to build taxpayer profiles through the National Database & Registration Authority.

Abbasi further said that five years ago, the GDP growth in Pakistan was less than 3 percent whereas now its around 5 percent. He said that in the financial year starting July, Pakistan aims to achieve 6 percent-plus growth rate. “The government "has done well despite political difficulties and instability”, he was quoted by Bloomberg.

In January 2018, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte held a bilateral meeting in New Delhi ahead of the ASEAN-India Commemorative Summit. After Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte expressed his government's interest in learning from New Delhi's experience with Aadhaar, PM Modi assured India’s support to Manila in rolling out the unique identification numbers to 103.3 million Filipinos.  "Prime Minister Narendra Modi has assured the Philippine President of all possible assistance in rolling out unique identification numbers for citizens of the Southeast Asian nation," Preeti Saran, Secretary (East) in the Ministry of External Affairs informed.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Feb 07, 2018 07:32 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).