‘FBR mulls unifying various taxes’

KARACHI: The Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) is figuring out how to merge various taxes into one tax to simplify the taxation system for trade and industry, a senior tax official said on Monday.

Member Inland Revenue FBR Ashfaq Ahmed said the apex tax authority is working on merging all the taxes in one tax with simplification of procedures. The tax rates and collection procedures are decided by the parliament and “we have no authority to change it without the consent of the parliament but we can recommend the parliament to modify the procedures”. “We have achieved a record of tax collection by increasing the number of taxpayers this year,” Ahmed said during a meeting with the office bearers of the Federation of Pakistan Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FPCCI).

The FBR adopted the policy not to extend the last date of returns filing in piecemeal rather than the date of filing of returns was extended to a considerable period of 90 days from September to December.

The tax official hoped that a number of filers might touch the figure of 3 million by the end of this year. Ahmed said the FBR anomalies committee has been constituted to settle the tax issues. On exemption certificates, he acknowledged the grievances and “I am personally working on it to improve the procedures”. The FPCCI expressed concerns for not consulted and taken onboard by the government despite its being the main stakeholder in revenue generation.

The FPCCI proposed a facilitation desk of the FBR at FPCCI Head Office for proper coordination of FBR with the business community. “The complexity of tax on tax, additional tax, and advance tax is creating confusion and a difficult and lengthy process,” Nasser Hyatt Maggo, president of FPCCI said. “All the basic exemptions are available for the large enterprises. Small and medium enterprises should be facilitated to bring them in the tax net. Our members have many questions and all relevant problems should be revisited in consultation with FPCCI.” The meeting was held to discuss tax related matters and issues faced by the business community.