Tax exemption on small houses may end

Minister suggests property taxation based on value

LAHORE:

Punjab government is considering withdrawal of the property tax exemption on houses covering an area of up to five marlas.

Provincial Finance Minister Hashim Jawan Bakht said on Tuesday that there is no logical justification for the exemption and the property tax should be imposed on the basis of valuation of the property.

Chairing a meeting on resource mobilisation for the fiscal year 2020-21,

he underlined that there was a need of revisiting the Property Act 1958 to improve the taxation system in the province. The minister suggested linking of the municipal services and property taxation, arguing that improvement in water, sanitation and waste management services would led to an increase the value of the property. He said the Punjab government wanted a beneficial taxation in the province for taxpayers and was considering reducing the tax rates to increase the collection.

The meeting reviewed a proposal of the excise and taxation department about immovable urban properties and recommended consultation with the Punjab Revenue Authority (PRA) and local government department. Instructions were issued to get approval from the minister of excise to present the proposal again in the next meeting on resource mobilisation.

It approved the existing valuation table for property taxation till June next year and expanded the remission threshold to 100% from 90%.

The minister said the government was making revolutionary reforms to strengthen the local governments in Punjab by increasing their resources and powers. He said it was a golden opportunity for the local governments to make improvements in the water and sanitation, waste management and other municipal services to increase their revenue. He said the revenue collected by the excise department and other agencies would be allocated to the local governments in the future.

The meeting was also attended by Punjab Excise and Taxation Minister Hafiz Mumtaz Ahmed, Revenue Minister Malik Anwar, Health Ministries Dr Yasmin Rashid, Irrigation Minister Mohsin Laghari, Finance Secretary Abdullah Sumbal, PRA Chairperson Zainull Abidin Sahi and officials of the departments concerned.

Published in The Express Tribune, September 16^th, 2020.