Simplifying tax payments

When governments make promises, they are often intended to either appease or fool the public. A “one-page simplified Tax Return Form” is one of many such promises being made for the past several years. Citizens perceive paying income tax as a complex and cumbersome process that cannot be accomplished without the help of lawyers and accountants. This often involves paying more money to the tax lawyer than the amount paid to the government.

Pakistan has been held back by a colonial bureaucracy that refuses to adopt modern and unconventional reforms. Why can we not understand that 2.2 million – equivalent to 1% of tax payers – cannot sustain a population of 210 million people? A simple non-threatening, bilingual, one-page tax form, easily understandable by a 10th grade student is all that is needed to radically transform our tax base. The one-page tax form ought to be massively advertised and explained on TV without it being changed from year to year. The current e-filing sounds impressive but is too complex for most citizens.