LAHORE: Punjab Minister for Excise and Taxation Hafiz Mumtaz Ahmad assured the LCCI President Mian Tariq Misbah to withdraw the increase in property tax besides granting two week extension in rebate already given to the stakeholder.
The decision was reached at a meeting of the newly formed committee. Provincial Minister Hashim Jawan Bakht, Secretary Excise & Taxation Waqas Ali Mahmood and representatives of All Pakistan Anjuman-e-Tajran including Naeem Mir and Waqar Ahmed Mian were also present in the occasion.
It will be worth mentioning here that the credit of this great achievement goes to the LCCI President Mian Tariq Misbah who fought case of the business community impressively and convinced the top authority to do a favorable decision.
The Minister said that the rebate facility has been restored for two weeks while no additional surcharge will be levied on the taxpayers till the final decision.
He said that the government is cooperating fully with the business community. “We are well aware of the importance of the private sector to keep the wheel of the economy running”, he added and said that for the sake of traders, property tax proposals will be discussed in the pre-resource mobilization committee.
LCCI President Mian Tariq Misbah thanked to the Chief Minister Punjab and the Officials of Excise and Taxation Department for constituting a Committee to resolve the property tax issues of the business community.
He said that the Government of Punjab has withdrawn the remission in property tax for the financial year 2021-22 through the Punjab Finance Act 2021. This has resulted in a considerable increase in the property tax which has increased the cost of doing business for our business community.
The LCCI President said that the increase in Property Tax would prove to be counter-productive. General public as well as business community is already facing a lot of problems due to high inflation and devaluation. He strongly recommended that the decision of withdrawal the remission in property tax should be taken back.
Mian Tariq Misbah said that the date of the property tax payment should be extended to October 30, 2021. He said that the rate of property tax in the commercial areas on the properties which fall in the category of self-use has also been increased. He recommended that this increase should also be taken back.
He mentioned that many members of the business community often report that sometimes tax notices are served for recovery of Taxes which got due many years ago. There should be immediate intimation to the taxpayers in case any tax liability is due rather than keeping the case pending for years.
