ISLAMABAD: Member Operations Inland Revenue Rehmat Ullah Khan Wazir has said that though 22 percent growth in withholding tax is very good, there is still need to take measures to improve revenue collections.
“I have directed all the withholding commissioners to raise the ratio up to 30 percent till the end of June, move forward and do more work,” he said.
During an exclusive interview with Customs Today Rehmatullah Khan Wazir said, “We have the potential but there is a need to utilize it.” He said that the Pakistani people should realize that taxpaying was a national obligation as funds are required to launch health, education and development projects.
“Paying taxes means you are securing the future of this nation, supporting social services and helping to present a balanced annual budget,” he said, adding that the Federal Board of Revenue has approved his idea regarding the digital directory of withholding taxes.
“Now the FBR and chief executive of the Pakistan Revenue Automation Limited (PRAL) have agreed to make a digital directory of withholding taxpayers and the data is already available with the PRAL. The directory will consist of the whole data of withholding taxes, he said, adding that there are 60 provisions in withholding tax and all the data related to these provisions will be included in the directory.
The list of the names of withholding agents will also be included, he said. The directory will show whether the withholding agents are filing their statement or not, how much withholding tax has been received in a week, month or year. He said that this will help check audit work, authenticity of the tax statements and other related issues.
He said: “We are working on a proposal to introduce an expeditious tax refund system. This system will speed up the process of making repayments and reduces errors and will also help reduce tax refund fraud.” He added that it was not fair that some businessmen take benefit from the tax system, while others pay most of the taxes.
He said in coming budget under a new system those business owners who have not been paying a fair amount of taxes would have to pay more tax. This mean they will earn less while the business owners who will be earning less may be upset. It is important to note that they have been enjoying exclusive benefits for a long time. After introducing the new provisions, the system will be more balanced and fairer for all. It is national duty of every taxpayer to pay the required tax on time and file the tax return accurately and honestly, he concluded.
