LAHORE: The Founders Group of traders has said that taxation is an important source of revenue collection by the government to provide certain facilities to its citizens either free or at nominal charges but good tax reforms can put the economy back on track and can also bring untaxed sectors into the tax net.
Leaders of Founders Group, Mian Muhammad Ashraf, Sheikh Muhammad Asif and Farooq Iftikhar, said that taxation is an important source of revenue collection by the government to provide certain facilities to its citizens either free or at nominal charges. Such taxation systems are considered good and are welcomed by general public which are fairly implemented and transparently spent without discrimination.
Founders Group leaders said that unfortunately, Pakistan lags far behind in introducing balanced taxation system which may win confidence of taxpayers and at the same time meet the standard of best practices around the globe.
They said Pakistan’s ranking in paying taxes is 171 and it is even outclassed by regional competitors like Sri Lanka and India which are at 158th and 157th places respectively.
They said that in India, the total numbers of tax payments are 33 whereas in case of Pakistan and Sri Lanka these are 47 apiece. It should be matter of grave concern that Pakistanis have to spend almost 594 hours to get fully discharged from their tax liabilities as compared to 243 hours by Indians and only 167 hours by Sri Lankans. Founders Group leaders said that number of taxes and frequency of paying taxes must be reduced.
Moreover, taxes may be paid quarterly instead of every month. For that matter, all para tariffs must be merged in the main tariffs. Similarly, there should be electronic communication between taxpayers and tax departments. These proposals can make noticeable difference and win the confidence of taxpayers.
