Addressing the inauguration ceremony of the new block of Jinnah Hospital, Chairman PPP Bilawal Bhutto Zardari has said that the Sindh government is not only ready to cooperate to reduce the financial difficulties of the federation but can also take on the additional responsibility of collecting sales tax on services.
He said that NICVD has become the world’s largest heart treatment network and it is a good example of a successful model in the health sector at the provincial level. Bilawal Bhutto said that after the 18th Amendment, the health department was transferred to the provinces and Sindh proved that this responsibility can be handled better than the federation.
The PPP chairman also praised Karachi’s philanthropic community during his address at the event and said that the city’s community of donors is the largest in the world, with the help of which the public-private partnership model has progressed successfully.
He also stressed that the Sindh government can support the federal government by further improving the tax collection system, even to the extent that “if the FBR’s target is not met, we are ready to make up for the shortfall from our own resources.”
According to experts, Bilawal Bhutto’s statement is an important indication towards strengthening the model of provincial autonomy, however, there is a need for continuous consensus on fiscal powers between the federation and the provinces so that sustainable improvement in the tax collection system is possible.