Documents show Pak founding leaders were regular taxpayers

ISLAMABAD: If any Pakistani earning sufficient income still has an excuse of not paying taxes, the founding fathers of Pakistan have an example to offer who were regular taxpayers even in British India.
Not only Quaid-e-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah and Allama Muhammad Iqbal, the record of Quaid’s sister, Fatima Jinnah, indicate how punctual were they in filing their tax returns.
Fatima Jinnah even took offence when served with a notice from the income tax department when the payment was already made. Although, no serious effort has been made on part of the successive governments to get tax record from the Indian government of Quaid as he was doing legal practice in Mumbai, his one-year tax record buried in the files kept in the National Archive of Pakistan is available for public view.
An examination of his tax return filed for the financial year of 1939-40 is instructive. In it lies a message for the rich enjoying all privileges of a society subsidized by the poor through indirect taxes. Nevertheless they are either out of tax net or paying a negligible amount under this head.
The founder of Pakistan must be among the rich of his time but was a very good taxpayer also as he used to pay the tax, known as super tax, levied on the high-earners.
Jinnah declared an income of Rs82,335 in 1939-40 and paid tax of Rs4,498. Another document indicates his law-abiding behaviour when served with a notice from the tax authorities as he got late in filing tax return.
Responding to the notice, Jinnah explained the reason behind this delay declaring that he was in Delhi for attending the legislative assembly session hence couldn’t do the filing timely.
Fatima Jinnah’s papers also carry some documents about her taxes. Although, there is no tax return available, there is an exchange of correspondence. In 1959, Mohsin Ali Khan, then deputy tax collector Karachi, wrote a letter to her inquiring about her income tax of Rs5,947 for the year

1952-53.
Outraged over this unnecessary notice when payment was already made, she wrote back to the deputy collector advising the officer to check the record before writing such letters and ended at this line: “I hope your office will not show off your authority in future.”
As for as Iqbal’s tax practices are concerned, his documents shows how good a record keeper he was taking note of every payment he made. His diary of 1937 placed in Pakistan Monument’s museum has noted, among other expenses, the income tax payment of Rs1,450.
The tax practices of the leaders who succeeded Jinnah are not available. Also, the Federal Board of Revenue has not bothered to declassify this ‘treasure trove’ of information for public awareness.
Former military dictator, Gen. Zia-ul-Haq is the only exception whose tax history is relatively known that found inherent contradictions in his preach and practice.
Addressing the Karachi Chamber of Commerce and Industry at its annual dinner, Gen. Zia declared tax evasion a crime bigger than theft. “Theft is a crime against an individual or a family but tax evasion is a crime against the state. If chopping of hands is an Islamic punishment for a thief, tax evader’s arm must be cut off,” he told the traders.
How good taxpayer was Gen. Zia? The reality unfolded only two years after his historic speech at the chamber. Although, the tax authorities couldn’t dare scrutinising his record as long as he was alive, the inquiry started soon after his death when Benazir Bhutto was elected as the prime minister.
The investigation revealed that Zia had never filed a tax return throughout his military service. His family was ordered to do the filing right from the beginning of his service till his death. Zia’s widow was asked to file the tax return from the back date if she had an income source.
Upon response that she was drawing rental income of two properties that Zia had transferred in her name in 1973, the property record was examined that was still in Zia’s name. Tax authorities directed the family to show the same in Zia’s tax return that was done.
This practice left many to wonder that if death couldn’t exempt Zia from filing of returns, why is not mandatory for other leaders, the present lot included. Our report on tax returns of 2011 had found that around 70% lawmakers were non-filers.
A follow-up report in the next year didn’t find any improvement as 47% lawmakers had not filed their tax returns but allowed to contest elections with impunity. Another 25% who claimed having filed the returns were contradicted by the FBR record dispatched to the Election Commission of Pakistan.