PHOTO: FILE
“Harmonisation of tax system across the country is also a must to get rid of the issue of dual taxation,” he said, according to a statement issued on Wednesday.
Though the amnesty scheme was a good step to bring capital into the country, it could not be productive until and unless major issues like withholding tax on banking transactions existed, said Javaid.
He said over the years the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) could not satisfy all the stakeholders ie the state as well as taxpayers with just 1.2 million tax return filers out of a population of around 210 million, which brought hardly 12-13% of gross domestic product (GDP) in revenues.
This is reflected in the international ranking on paying taxes where Pakistan is currently at 172nd place out of 190 countries. The LCCI president said neither the existing system was economically neutral, taxpayer-friendly, equitable and progressive nor did it facilitate and support healthy business activities.
“Taxation is of course an important source of revenue collection, but tax policies must be based on best international practices and universally accepted canons of taxation,” he said. Javaid was of the view that various distortions in existing tax policies could be addressed if the feedback of all the representatives of business organisations was given due consideration by the FBR.
Talking about the coercive measures, Javaid said teams of the tax department should visit markets, if indispensable, but they should be bound to follow due legal process and immediately stop harassing the business community.
He suggested that the FBR may convene a meeting with all the chambers of commerce, prominent representative bodies and associations.
Published in The Express Tribune, April 12th, 2018.
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