Improvement In Mini-budget Demands Tax Net Expansion: Experts

ISLAMABAD, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 25th Sep, 2018 ) :The experts here at a seminar expressed that amendments made in the finance bill 2018-19 lacked direction and vision.

Overall the mini budget did not meet the expectations as taxpayers were further burdened, said the speakers representing business community and civil society during a discussion on 'Amendments in Finance Bill 2018-19', organized by Sustainable Development Policy Institute (SDPI) here on Monday.

Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), Senator�Nouman Wazir Khattak�said when PTI came to power, the economy was in shambles. The PTI government raised the tax rates on imports of only luxury items to cut the import bill.

He said that the government would take concrete measures in consultation with stakeholders to bring the non-taxpayers into tax net. He said that the government required at least next four months to analyze economic crisis and to find ways for coming out of the crisis. For future taxation measures, we need stakeholders' consultations and also need to take the business community on board, he added.

Wazir said the country's foreign policy had to be aligned with economy and trade.

Former Senator, Pakistan People's Party Parliamentarian (PPP-P) Farhatullah Babar claimed that the mini budget presented by the government had disappointed, as it supports the corrupt mafia of the country.

He alleged that by allowing non-taxpayers and non-filers to purchase land and motor cars, the government had legitimized corruption. He said that the government had failed to provide a comprehensive road map to revamp and streamline economy and regional trade.

No economy of the world had sign of improvement without trade with its neighbor, he added.

Joint Executive Director, SDPI Dr Vaqar Ahmed said that the government had tried to keep the income tax structure progressive through maintaining the low rate of tax on lower income groups.

The advanced tax on transaction through the banking system by non-filers was increased. He said that measure should be accompanied by a reduction in time and cost of becoming a filer, where all scheduled banks should be allowed the powers to facilitate a willing person to become a filer.

He said that the government may revisit its decision to allow non-filers to purchase property and motor vehicles. The exemptions and reduced rates allowed by the government in sale tax and customs duty should be time bound and not for indefinite period, he added.

Dr Vaqar said that to curtail non-essential imports, the government has increased duties on imported vehicles. This increase may not be enough in light of past experience to reduce non-essential imports. Instead of slashing the size of development budget, the government should focus on reducing number of ministries merging the attached departments, he proposed.

The government should also aim to remove the current distortions in the tax code such as consolidation of over 60 withholding taxes provisions, over 50 indirect taxes and over a dozen taxes have overlap with provincial revenue jurisdictions, he added.