ISLAMABAD: The National Assembly Standing Committee on Finance, Revenue, on Thursday, passed the Income Tax (Amendment) Bill 2016 as majority members of the committee supported the bill.
Three opposition members, including Abdul Rashid Godil (MQM), Nafeesa Shah (PPP) and Asad Umar (PTI) submitted their notes of dissent while four members of the PML-N, including Daniyal Aziz, Muhammad Pervaiz Malik, Mian Mian Abdul Mannan and Rana Shamim Ahmed Khan voted for the bill.
During the course of debate on the said bill, the opposition members strongly criticized the existing tax system and emphasised on continuation of tax-reform process to enable the tax authorities to bring more and more people into the tax net.
Asad Umar and Nafeesa Shah were vocal on the subject and they were of the viewpoint that tax amnesty schemes in the past had not produced any good result economically; therefore, the proposed scheme would also have the same fate. They said that government should avoid running the financial affairs of the country on ad hocism basis.
However, Asad Umar appreciated Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif’s vision of desiring a Hong Kong resembling tax system with lower tax rates but across the board taxation without any discrimination.
Nafeesa Shah flouted five recommendations passed by the Senate Finance Committee to the said bill said that the recommendations should be incorporated in the bill.
She moved that members of the parliament should be omitted from the part VI of the bill. Moreover, withholding tax rate on bank transactions for non-filers must be lowered to 0.2 percent. Law should be applicable only on companies and not on individuals. Filers and non-filers must be given six months time for joining or rejecting this scheme as well as FBR must publish data of 2.2 million potential taxpayers.
Committee Chairman Qaiser Ahmad Sheikh assured the committee members to continue with the tax reform process at committee level as well as assured the opposition members to consider their recommendations in future while discussing the said bill both inside the House as well as inside the committee.
The Committee directed FBR Chairman to provide details of revenue collection of withholding tax and the annual tax collection of the filers report with regard to the questions rose by the members during the meeting pertaining to outcome of amnesty scheme launched by the Movement since 1947.
The Committee members were of the view that all business Community including traders should be given benefits through amnesty schemes. The Committee was further informed by Chairman, FBR that 1 million and 3 thousand tax filers have been registered so far.
The Committee also emphasized that other business community could also be considered for bring them into this Procedure. Chairman Qaiser Ahmad Sheikh, was of the opinion that all business sector would be invited in Committee meeting for their issues related with said procedure.
