LAHORE: Abdul Waheed Shakir, a tax lawyer of the Lahore High Court (LHC), has said that the officials of the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) should provide friendly atmosphere to taxpayers who come voluntarily instead of threatening them about penalties.
Talking to Customs Today he said that the FBR could generate more revenue by facilitating the taxpayers. Most of traders who have potential to pay taxes, avoid getting register with tax department due to the learnt stories of panic atmosphere about the department.
Tax Lawyer said “we come into contact with FBR official and taxpayers on daily basis, we know problems into system that must be resolved.” He quoted an example if a taxpayer got late to file his income tax return or withholding statement, he had to pass a threatening situation. He said that department should compensate and guide taxpayers if taxpayers found difficulty in meeting department’s instructions due to some issues. Such kind of behavior and friendly atmosphere will encourage existing taxpayers as well as non-compiler, he added.
While talking about software, he said every new module took time to run properly. He said there were problems in new software regarding the calculation of taxes, sales tax registration etc. Our community and tax bars have been raising issues time to time and no doubt, department has taken measure to eliminate the issues. He said now sales tax registration number could be obtained in 10 to 15 days instead of waiting for two to three months.
He suggested FBR should take views and suggestions of tax practitioners while re-devising any module regarding the sales tax registration, income tax returns filing etc which could help the department to develop suitable software.
He also said that transparency in system could curb corruption at any level and boost the revenue generation.
