Apropos debate in media and seminars on Budget 2004-2005 and the fact that Pakistan is among those countries with lowest tax-to-GDP ratio.
The unfortunate reality is taxpayers are subjected to double jeopardy in this country by levying uniform indirect taxes on purchase and sale of moveable and immovable property as applicable to tax defaulters, including those who do not have an NTN. What can anybody expect from FBR, whose 1,200 officers out of a total of 1,743, have not filed their tax returns for years, nor has such individual or their family owned assets acquired during tenure of service ever been probed by any regulatory body.
There is no rocket science involved, especially after post 9/11 incident, to reveal expensive foreign trips undertaken by any individual. Just look at long queues of prospective investors, seeking properties in UAE and numerous advertisements placed in local media about new projects and tax paid by them. We live in a country where every top bureaucrat and public office holder owns property in some foreign country, either in his name or some member of his family and as soon as they retire, catch first flight out of Pakistan to live off billions they plundered by abuse of power.
There are no privileges or facilities offered to individuals who pay taxes, on other hand it is this small percentage of population, less than even 1% who are squeezed by every government which has ruled this country for past fifty years. If a tax payer with NTN, having paid all taxes and submitting his wealth statement in accordance with laws wants to purchase a motor vehicle, he has to pay non-refundable amount in head of Income tax/withholding tax/sales tax same as that paid by non-taxpayers. The argument offered is that this is to promote automobile industry, forgetting the ugly reality that this promotes tax evasion. There is no tax levied on sale and purchase of real estate, because bureaucracy, civil or uniformed, and powerful land mafia are biggest benefactors of this business, where only few individuals benefit and profits accrued from single transaction are in crores of rupees.
MALIK TARIQ ALI
Lahore
