Reducing Number Of Taxes To Jack-up Pakistan's Int'l Ranking In Paying Taxes

The Lahore Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI) on Wednesday urged the government to reduce number of taxes, change the mode of payments and devise a mechanism for refunds payment.

LAHORE, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 12th Dec, 2018 ) :The Lahore Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI) on Wednesday urged the government to reduce number of taxes, change the mode of payments and devise a mechanism for refunds payment.

LCCI President Almas Hyder, in a press statement, said the measures were much needed to relieve the pressure from the businesses, as Pakistan stood at 173rd position in the international ranking of paying taxes.

According to a World Bank Report, he said the Pakistani businessmen paid 47 taxes in a year as compared to their competitors in Hong Kong three, United Arab Emirates (UAE) four, Ireland nine, Malaysia eight, India 13 and Sri Lanka 36.

Almas Hyder said a company, operating in all the four provinces, had to make five payments of corporate Income Tax in a year, 12 payments of Employer paid-Pension Contributions, 12 payments of Social Security contribution, one payment each for education cess, property tax, professional tax, vehicle tax, stamp duty and fuel tax, and 12 payments of goods and sales tax. Though taxes were a must to run the government affairs, yet the same should be imposed according to the ground realities, he added.

LCCI President demanded that monthly frequency of tax payments related to Employees Old Age Benefit Intuition (EOBI) and Punjab Employees Social Security Institution (PESSI) and provincial sales tax must be reduced to once a year.

He said professional and property tax should be clubbed together and likewise, Federal and provincial sales tax. All the tax payments should be accepted through credit card, debit card, direct debit or Internet/mobile banking, he added.

The LCCI president suggested that refunds ranging from Rs 10 million to 50 million should be instantly released while all the backlog of refunds should be cleared within two months upon the filing of returns.

He said electronic filing and online payment should be made mandatory for all departments. Risk-management system should be improved to reduce the number of physical audits.

The above measures, if implemented, would not only reduce the burden on existing taxpayers but also encourage new taxpayers to come into the tax net, besides improving Pakistan's international ranking in paying taxes, he added.