Tax Targets: ICCI terms tax targets unrealistic

ICCI president feared harassment by tax departments would increase as efforts are made to cover huge revenue target.

ISLAMABAD: Islamabad Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ICCI) President Yassar Sakhi Butt has said that the government has set a very high tax revenue target of Rs2.38 trillion, which seems unachievable as it has so far been unable to realise the outgoing fiscal year’s revenue target of Rs1.95 trillion. He said all the major economic indicators show deteriorated performance against the same period last year: therefore, the government should revise its tax collection targets by keeping in view ground realities. The ICCI president feared that harassment by tax departments would increase as efforts are made to cover the huge revenue target, and the tax machinery would be subject to extreme pressure after the Federal Budget 2012-13. He further said that broadening of the tax net is required, but must be done in a systematic and realistic way. The government should develop a conducive environment to collect taxes and also encourage non-taxpayers to come into the tax net, he added.

Published in The Express Tribune, June 5^th, 2012.