ISLAMABAD: Ahead of budget preparation process, the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) has called a meeting of members of Tax Advisory Council (TAC) here on Saturday, April 4.
Last year, the FBR formed TAC to recommend new measures for the next budget 2014-15. The idea to constitute a tax advisory body had originally been floated to simplify tax laws, plug loopholes and ensure principles of equity and fairness in the tax systems by seeking help of leading tax professionals of the country.
“FBR has sent invitation letters to all members of the TAC for participation in the meeting which will be chaired by the Finance Minister Ishaq Dar scheduled to held at FBR Headquarters” a well placed official source at FBR told this scribe here on Wednesday.
TAC is mandated to discuss and recommend new tax proposals. It provide input on different tax policy issues, enabling the government to adopt pluralistic views representing the divergent interest groups and, at the same time, enhance tax revenues, according to the notification.
It deliberates upon and suggests measures for extending the tax net, propose legislation which would minimize opposition and increase compliance of the law, according to the notification.
It provides input on different tax policy issues, enabling the government to adopt pluralistic views representing the divergent interest groups and, at the same time, enhance tax revenues, according to the notification.
The FBR has asked TAC members to keep their presentation on three key areas including broadening the tax net, providing ease of doing business without compromising revenue as well as enhancing the tax revenue.
All these three areas have been main focus of almost every government for increasing tax revenue in the past and current government.
In finance bill 2014-15, Finance Ministry proposed several steps to broaden tax net including bringing the retail sector under the tax net by linking their utility bills with their national tax number.
The finance ministry proposed to link the utility bills of retailers with their National Tax Number (NTN), which will help the government in tracing the tax record of retailers. Likewise, any new entrant or entrepreneur will have to obtain an NTN for paying his utility bills so that the government can trace bring him in the tax net.
TAC in a pre budget meeting held in May last year, attended by chartered accountants, academics, senior tax consultants, retired senior officers, industrialists, presidents of the Federation of Pakistan Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FPCCI), the four provincial chambers of commerce and professional associations, including ICAP, ICMA, President Tax Bar, the Security and Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP), Pakistan, the Banking Association, the Karachi Stock Exchange (KSE), Lahore Stock Exchange (LSE) and Islamabad Stock Exchange (ISE), expressed a general sense of satisfaction over the economic policies of the government and the expectations that the strengthening of the rupee would bring about a positive impact on the country.
The SECP chairman, FBR chairman, representatives of chartered accountant firms and senior officials of the Ministry of Finance and FBR also attended the meeting.
It is pertinent to note here that Tax Advisory Council (TAC) is aimed at giving billionaires, the direct beneficiaries of tax policies, a formal role in division of tax policy.
The 22-member TAC comprises of leading industrialists, chartered accountants, business community leaders, economists and former officers of the Federal Board of Revenue.
These powerful businessmen deal in almost every main sector of the economy including dairy products, textile, steel, engineering, banking and trading.
