KARACHI: “Nothing is certain in this world but death and taxes,” a famous quote by Benjamin Franklin. This quote directly applies to the registered taxpayers of Pakistan, especially the salaried class.
If you are in the tax net and pay your taxes on time, your life will remain miserable not only because of the harassment of enforcement but also because of collecting additional taxes to meet your revenue targets.
Meanwhile, those outside the tax net will continue to live as they please. The exorbitant cost of commodities, high inflation, reduced purchasing power, and imposition of huge taxes will not only affect the lives of citizens but will also force professionals to look for jobs outside Pakistan leading to a brain drain that has been observed for a long time.
Those who are unable to find opportunities elsewhere and cannot make ends meet may engage in activities that could lead to a law and order situation in the country.
A tax is usually defined as a sum of money required by a government for its support or a particular facility or service, collected from income, property, sales, etc. In general, it is the right of every law-abiding citizen and taxpayer to know what kind of facilities they are getting because of this compulsory contribution.
Broken roads, constant power outages, gas stalls, poor infrastructure, law and order situation, lack of resources, inadequate education system, unemployment and what not – all these problems make one wonder: why should these people be? registered in the tax network and pay the government the due share of taxes?
Although this does not justify their claim, the situation worsens when the government lacks the will to tax those who contribute more to GDP, either not taxing them at all or taxing them at very low rates. On the other hand, those who pay taxes on time are penalized for those who do not.
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A perfect example of this is our country’s wage-earning class, which is targeted whenever there is a shortfall in tax revenue. However, the time has come when this class should be exempted from tax in the upcoming budget.
Pakistani lawmakers should not only focus on short-term policies but should also consider the long-term results of their measures. Every year we witness how the salary class is further burdened by increased taxes or withdrawal of tax benefits.
It was just last year that the government significantly increased payroll tax rates, citing pressure from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to meet revenue targets for the current fiscal year.
Among the various options, the grade has become an easy target as most of their taxes are collected by their employers at source under Section 149 of the Income Tax Ordinance 2001.
