Loss of billions

A loss of Rs35 billion in tax revenues has been estimated due to destruction caused by flooding and Karachi violence.

ISLAMABAD: A loss of Rs35 billion in tax revenues has been estimated due to the destruction caused by flooding in two provinces and the volatile law and order situation in Karachi.

A high ranking official of the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) commented that this quarter’s tax collection targets will not be reached because floods have caused large-scale devastation in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa and Punjab.

He highlighted that not only has there been infrastructural damage but industrial units and markets have also been affected.

In Karachi, the violence seen over the past three days has resulted in a revenue loss of between Rs12 and Rs15 billion.

The Chairman of the FBR, Sohail Ahmad, pointed out that daily loss in tax revenue amounts to Rs5 billion just when the markets in Karachi remain closed.

He pointed out along with the loss in collection incurred because of the floods, it is very difficult to give a precise figure of forgone revenue.

Published in The Express Tribune, August 5^th, 2010.