FBR urged to widen tax net

ISLAMABAD: Country’s top trade body has advised Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) to focus on widening tax base by finding new taxpayers, a handout said on Wednesday. 

“Existing taxpayers are already discharging all the obligations, therefore they should not be overburdened,” President Federation of Pakistan Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FPCCI) Zubair Tufail said, lamenting the overtaxation of the ‘drivers of economy’ in a meeting at his office. 

“Business community regularly pays all the applicable taxes, duties, and cesses including sales, excise, income, professional, infrastructure development, EOBI etc.”

He said the FPCCI has been receiving complaints from existing taxpayers about the attitude of the staff of Inland Revenue Wing.

“The officials of the tax departments are carrying out raids on different factories, taking away entire records of the companies, and harassing the staffers,” the FPCCI chief said.

He noted that frequent raids on business premises/offices and unnecessary audit notices are unjustified. 

“Chairman FBR Dr. Muhammad Irshad is requested to direct the concerned officers to treat the business community in the right way,” Tufail said adding, the FBR chief has recently issued a directive to his team to call off the raids for a month, which must be followed.