Govt expenditures to be slashed: Hafeez

The Finance Minister said the government expenditures to be slashed in the next budget. Addressing a pre-budget seminar he said there are many sectors which need to be taxed. A just tax system is imperative for self-sufficiency, he opined.About 71 thousand well-off non-tax payers have been served notices, out of which 1300 have been asked to pay tax worth Rs 1 billion, he informed. More attention will be paid to direct taxes in the coming budget.The federal government is ready to levy agricultural tax if the provinces are willing, he added. Between September 2010 to May 2011, tax refunds of Rs 40 billion were made.