FBR amends law to keep super tax on banks

KARACHI: The Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) on Tuesday amended tax rules for banking companies and continued imposition of super tax for the third consecutive year.

The FBR issued a statutory regulatory order (SRO) to amend the Seventh Schedule of the Income Tax Ordinance, 2001, which exclusively deals with the tax treatment for banking companies.

According to the SRO, the application of super tax at the rate of four percent will be applicable for the tax year 2017. 

The government had already announced to continue the application of super tax in the budget 2017/18, but related changes to the tax laws are not made, which created anomaly and banking companies are excluded from the imposition of this levy. The government through the Finance Act 2015 imposed super tax for the rehabilitation of temporarily displaced persons. The tax was initially imposed for the tax year 2015, but subsequently it was extended up to the tax year 2017.

The persons other than banking companies, having income exceeding Rs500 million, are also liable to pay super tax at the rate of three percent.