ISLAMABAD: Three Broadening of Tax Base zones have pinpointed 10,000 potential taxpayers, who need to be brought under the tax net to increase the number of taxpayers in the country.
Member Inland Revenue- Policy Dr. Muhammad Iqbal along with Member Customs Muhammad Zahid Khokhar and Director General BTB Muhammad Tanvir Akhtar, informed the Senate Standing Committee on Finance and Revenue that Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) had prime focus on the broadening of tax base.
“In this regard, three broadening of tax base zones have been established in Lahore, Karachi and Islamabad which are working day and night to achieve the given tasks,” they observed, adding that expansion of tax base in Pakistan remained static much to the dismay of the tax authorities and international donor agencies.
“Pakistan has a narrow tax base with only 3.6 million taxpayers constituting only 2 percent of the total population. Low and non-compliant tax base adversely affect revenue generation and the resultant low tax GDP ratio and dependence on external and internal debts,” FBR officials added.
“It was in this back ground that the task of broadening of tax base (BTB) was taken up with renewed resolve in the year 2013 under the direct supervision of Federal Board of a Revenue. The primary objective of the BTB is to contribute towards a tax system based on equity and public trust,” director general of the BTB observed.
He further said that FBR had completed the process of mapping of some 450 commercial plazas constructed in Islamabad during last one decade. After completion of mapping process of remaining commercial plazas, BTB will focus on housing societies in the federal capital.
Currently, the FBR officials observed that housing societies were being charged the accurate ratio and percentage of taxes due to presence of some legal anomalies as well as an agreement with the real state sector inked two years back.
