Islamabad (GNP): Ministry of Finance and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) are jointly holding a two-day high-level workshop in Islamabad on 20-21 October 2026, titled “Reforms for a Modern and Growth-Friendly Tax System in Pakistan.” Senior government officials, IMF and World Bank representatives, international tax experts, academics and private-sector leaders are taking part to consider how to modernise the tax system and make it a stronger contributor to sustainable economic growth.
Finance and Revenue Minister Senator Muhammad Aurangzeb gave the opening remarks, together with Jihad Azour, Director of the IMF’s Middle East and Central Asia Department, and Rodrigo Valdés, Director of the IMF’s Fiscal Affairs Department.
The programme is organised into six sessions:
- “Taxing Better to Boost Growth”
- “The Case for Modernizing Pakistan’s Tax System”
- “Designing and Implementing a Unified Sales Tax Regime across the Federation and Provinces”
- “Toward a Simpler and More Neutral Income Tax System”
- “Aligning Tax Administration with Best Practices: Digitalization, Compliance and Taxpayer Trust”
- “Fiscal Federalism and Provincial Tax Revenues”
Across these sessions, participants will work toward a tax system that is broader, fairer, simpler and more predictable, one that supports revenue mobilisation, investment, business expansion and productivity.
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The workshop will end with a high-level panel to pull together recommendations, set priority next steps and agree on how stakeholders will keep working together. The event, the announcement said, reflects the government’s commitment to tax reform for a more efficient and growth-friendly system.
Sohail Majeed is a Special Correspondent at The Diplomatic Insight. He has twelve plus years of experience in journalism & reporting. He covers International Affairs, Diplomacy, UN, Sports, Climate Change, Economy, Technology, and Health.
