The government wants to generate more revenue, but it avoids widening tax base that is said to barely cover 0.30 per cent of the population, said former president of the Karachi Tax Bar Association (KTBA) Anwar Kashif Mumtaz yesterday.
In a seminar organised by bar association on the Finance Act, 2014, attended by tax practitioners and consultants, he said the government opted to introduce multiple categories with varied rates in the Act instead of broadening the actual tax base.
Mumtaz, who was the keynote speaker at the event, pointed out that in order to improve government’s cash flow, distinctions between tax filer and non-filers have been established in the Act. A non-filer will have to pay an extra or enhanced tax rate by up to 5pc.
However, he was critical that the burden to identify filer and non-filers rests upon withholding agents or bank. It is also mandatory that even if a person has paid tax or has National Tax Number, their names should appear on taxpayers’ list, he said.
