MULTAN
Punjab Minister for Excise and Taxation Mujtaba Shujaur Rehman has said that the Punjab budget will be presented on June 11 and the rate of property tax is likely to go up by 60 to 105 per cent.
“This tax has not been increased since 2001 while the tents of properties have registered three to four times hike during this period. Now increasing property tax has become imperative,” he added while addressing the members of Multan Chamber of Commerce and Industry here. He assured that the property tax would be increased with the consultation of all stakeholders.
He further disclosed that a committee led by Punjab Law and parliamentary Affairs Rana Sanaullah had also been constituted by the government for agriculture tax. He added that the committee would hold consultations with all stakeholders and make decision regarding imposition of agriculture tax. He told the MCCI members that another committee had also been constituted for professional tax and it would finalize its suggestions before budget. He declared that the Punjab Government would present its budget on June 11 and the government was willing to lift the ceiling for tax on income from agriculture to Rs0.3 or rs0.4 million from Rs80,000.
He told the MCCI members that the new property survey had been completed and 60 to 105 per cent increase was suggested in property tax in view of categories and cities. He said that the government was going to introduce computerised (GIS) system which would enable citizens to view their tax payments and category on their computer and make online payments. “We’re trying to computerise the system of all government departments with a view to minimize the direct contact of government servants with the citizens. “It will help reduce the volume of complaints,” he hoped. He said that the GIS system was initially introduced in Multan, Lahore, Faisalabad, Rawalpindi and Gujranwala while work on it would be accomplished in 30 more cities very soon.
He said that the system of National Bank was not updated and therefore permission was sought from the Chief Minister to shift the accounts of provincial departments to Bank of Punjab or other banks. “This will facilitate people at large and enable them to pay their dues while sitting at their homes. They will be able to utilize networks like easypaisa for making tax payments,” he declared.
He said that the government had introduced a new programme under which reward was given to the informer passing on information about tax evaders. Answering a question, he said that a proposal to give 10 per cent concession to such tax payers who paid their taxes regularly during last three years had been sent to the government in next budget. 
He said that it was unfortunate that the elite class of the country was not ready to pay tax but now they would have to contribute their share for the development of the country. He told the members of Multan Chamber that tax was imposed on luxury houses of just three cities of Punjab but at least 800 writ petitions were filed against it in the courts.
 He said that the government did not want to put the burden of new taxes in coming budget. He disclosed that 80 per cent of total budget of Punjab was contributed by the centre while just 20 per cent generated by the province.
To another query, he said that work on BT cotton was underway and different Chinese companies provided technical assistance in this regard. He said that Pakistani exports were likely to register a boost of over $2 billion in first year because of GSP-plus status. He claimed that the government worked hard to eliminate loadshedding and terrorism from the country. Citing examples, he said that the launching of work on 1320 megawatt Sahiwal coal power plant, completion of structure of Nandipur plant in just seven months and inauguration of Quaid-e-Azam Solar Park in Bahawalpur was proof of government’s determination.