Senior citizens

While PM Imran Khan talks about compassion for senior citizens, the FBR is busy in levying taxes on those who, after retirement, survive on monthly income from their investment in National Saving Centre (NSC) schemes. For over 20 years, the FBR has exempted tax on investment in schemes eligible only for senior citizens over 60 years.

In a country where the state does not provide any social security benefits to senior citizens, including those who have paid taxes all their lives, it is cruel to levy tax on the NSC schemes. The political elite and the FBR are not only hesitant to impose direct taxes on the rich who make billions of rupees per year, but they also offer tax amnesty schemes to the affluent section that is involved in tax evasion. Although the previous government said that it would withdraw the tax, no steps were taken in this regard. People are now hoping that Prime Minister Imran Khan will pay attention to this problem and exempt senior citizens from this tax.

Malik T Ali

Lahore