ISLAMABAD: With an average of almost half the parliamentarians from all over Pakistan not paying their due and proper taxes, the British government can diminish development funds to Pakistan.
These fears have risen after the publication of a report in Pakistan, which also shows that every tenth member of Pakistan’s national and provincial assemblies doesn’t even have a National Tax Number (NTN).
Government and opposition politicians in Britain have repeatedly called on Pakistan to increase its tax base and introduce reforms that could help collect more taxes and make the economy more accountable and formal. British politicians are of the view that the government in Pakistan has to introduce genuine and stiff reforms that ensure the collection of taxes at the top.
The UK politicians have sounded warnings that it will become difficult for Britain to continue funding Pakistan if its rich class fails to act responsibly.
A British government source has said that the UK government was closely monitoring the situation of tax collections in Pakistan and was waiting to see how Nawaz Sharif’s reforms brought about a real change, not just minor improvements.
The UK media said that Pakistan has one of the lowest of tax to GDP ratio in the world but less than 1% of its citizens file their income tax returns.
