Islamabad:
Salaried people have paid 21% more in the Income Tax during the first two months of this fiscal year, contributing with RS85 billion, which shows that the nominal reduction in the rates in the budget was insufficient to relieve its financial burden.
Compared to RS70 billion in income tax payments during July-August of the last fiscal year, their contributions increased to approximately RS85 billion this year, government sources told Express PAkGazette. They paid approximately RS15 billion, or 21% more, despite the fact that the government had nominally reduced its income tax rates in this year’s budget. The Minister of Finance, Muhammad Aurengzeb, acknowledged that relief was minimal due to almost any fiscal space available.
The 21% increase in income tax payments was higher than a higher base of last year when the contributions of the salaried class increased by more than half due to abnormal increases in their rates. The record contributions of people who pay the income tax of gross wages without having luxury to adjust the expenses, substantially reduced salaries to take home of a large segment of society.
In the last fiscal year, salaried persons paid RS555 billion in income taxes, 51% or 1888 billion of 18 million more than the previous fiscal year. In the budget, the Government marginally reduced the fiscal burden of people who earn to RS3.2 million annually, claiming that it would give them a benefit of RS56 billion. But compared to real contributions, this nominal relief was like a fall in the cube.
The details showed that the employees of the non -corporate sector paid RS41.5 billion in the Income Tax in the last fiscal year, an increase of RS8.5 billion or 26%. The employees of the corporate sector paid RS20 billion, also higher in RS5.2 billion or 26%. The spokesman of the Federal Income Board (FBR), Dr. Najeb Memon, did not answer a question about the growing load of salaried people despite a nominal cut in their rates.
The employees of the provincial governments paid almost RS10.5 billion in taxes, in RS626 million or 6%. Federal Government employees paid RS7.6 billion, higher in RS552 million or 8%, according to provisional figures compiled by the FBR for Julio-August.
The new government tax on rich pensioners has failed to generate greater income, showed the results. In the budget, the Income Tax was imposed by Government Tax on pensions valued at more than RS10 million annually. However, the FBR collected only RS180 million in two months, indicating that the annual collections can be just over RS1 billion, the sources said.
The parliamentary committees are also currently investigating the advantages and salaries of the officials of the Pakistan Stock Exchange and Securities Commission (SECP). The Office of the Pakistan General Auditor (AGP) had raised initial objections on an abnormal increase in the salaries of the SECP commissioners and the president, which the SECP Board approved in the recommendation of the Management.
The Permanent Committee of the Senate on Finance this week discussed the issue in detail and opposed to give salaries to a commissioner against 17 bosses. Senator Anusha Rahman, from the Pakistan Muslim League, Nawaz criticized to give 10% of the total salary as a rental subsidy of the house and another 10% as an allocation of public services to a commissioner. She also opposed the club membersiah.
This week, the AGP presented details of the audit objections in the Permanent Committee, which showed that a commissioner was obtaining up to RS1.9 million annually due to the security guard payments. Contrary to this, there were low daily dulls that worked in the government that did not even receive the minimum monthly salary, according to the procedures of the Permanent Finance Committee of the National Assembly.
Rahman has introduced a bill of private members in the Senate to withdraw the powers of the SECP Board to determine management wages. She plans to transfer a similar bill to clear the Board of the State Bank of Pakistan of such powers.
Although the tax contributions of the salaried class are constantly increasing, the Government has failed to collect the due taxes of the merchants. Several application measures have already been reversed, including the largest that was prohibiting economic transactions by not eligible people. This initiative became ineffective after the government exempt most transactions from the scope of the new law, and accepted cash deposits in banks as equal to digital transactions.
During the period, the government also increased the tax burden of the real estate sector by increasing the fees for non -filtering and introducing a new category of late filing archivators in the budget. This has affected the growth of the sector, in addition to other initiatives aimed at discouraging investment in unrected lands.
In this budget, the government made adjustments in the tax retention rates and the purchase of plots. As a result, the Government raised RS28 billion in sales of plots, higher by 92% or RS13.4 billion. However, the collection of the purchase of properties amounted to less than RS13 billion, in RS2 billion or 12%.
