Tax Directory for MPs, individuals for 2018 to be published

ISLAMABAD: The PTI-led government has decided to publish Tax Directory for Parliamentarians and all other individuals for tax year 2018 and it will be launched anytime in coming few weeks.

It would be sixth consecutive Tax Directory from Pakistani tax authorities as the FBR started launching Tax Directory from tax year 2013.

“Yes, the preparations are underway for releasing Tax Directory for Parliamentarians for Tax Year 2018.

All parliamentarians belonging to the National Assembly, the Senate and four provincial assemblies have been requested to file their income tax returns so that their names can be included into Tax Directory,” top official sources confirmed to The News here on Wednesday.

The Revenue Division would move summary to get permission from the federal cabinet and after getting approval the Tax Directory for tax year 2018 would be launched.

The sources said that the Revenue Division had not yet moved summary so it was not expected to come before the cabinet as part of the agenda for today’s (Thursday) scheduled meeting under chairmanship of Prime Minister Imran Khan.

The FBR sources said that the internal deadline had not yet approached so the work was underway with this understanding that the Tax Directory for parliamentarians as well as individuals, association of persons and companies would be launched simultaneously by end of the ongoing month or early March 2020.

The practice of launching Tax Directory for parliamentarians had been kick-started by the PML-N-led regime under former finance minister Ishaq Dar when The News Investigative Reporter Umar Cheema had launched its investigative report on paid-up taxes and possessed assets shown by parliamentarians in their filed returns and submitted before the Election Commission of Pakistan for contesting general elections in 2013.

Then the PML-N government had taken decision to launch Tax Directory for parliamentarians so it got published without any interruption five times as it kick-started from tax year 2013 and continued for tax Year 2017.

The last Tax Directory for parliamentarians for tax year 2017 was published last year by the PTI-led regime.

“It is good omen for the political maturity and for transparency that the PTI-led government also decided to continue this practice for the sake of greater transparency that Tax Directory for parliamentarians continued to be launched every year,” said the official sources and added that the Tax Directory for tax year 2018 ending on June 30, 2019 would be released in next few weeks period.

The need for transparency and accountability in a vibrant democracy imposes extra responsibility on public representatives for disclosure of their assets and the sources of their income. With these aims and objectives, Federal Board of Revenue published, its first Tax Directory of parliamentarians in tax year 2013.

However, the PTI-led regime continued the policy of transparency and accountability through access to information.