| Data for year 2019 shows Asif Zardari, Shahid Khaqan, Asad Umar, Murad Ali Shah, Sadiq Sanjrani, Talha Mahmood paid tax in millions | Yousaf Raza Gilani paid no tax | Punjab CM Usman Buzdar, several lawmakers paid only Rs 2000 tax
ISLAMABAD - The Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) launched the Parliamentarians’ Tax Directory for Tax Year-2019 on Monday, showed Prime Minister Imran Khan paid Rs9.85 million income tax while Opposition Leader in National Assembly Shehbaz Sharif paid Rs8.24 million tax.
The Parliamentarians’ Tax Directory was launched in a special ceremony organised at FBR offices. Federal Minister for Finance and Revenue Shaukat Tarin who was the Chief Guest on this momentous occasion formally launched the Tax Directory after his brief address to the participants.
Chairman FBR/Secretary Revenue Division Dr Muhammad Ashfaq Ahmed, all Members and senior officers of FBR were present on this occasion. “This data only includes income and tax declared in returns filed to FBR and does not include agricultural income tax paid to provinces, sales tax, federal excise duty etc,” the tax directory stated.
According to the document, Prime Minister Imran Khan paid Rs9.85 million in tax year 2019. Opposition Leader in the National Assembly Shehbaz Sharif paid Rs8.24 million income tax. Former President of Pakistan and PPP co-chairman Asif Ali Zardari paid Rs2.22 million and his son and Chairman PPP Bilawal Bhutto Zardari paid Rs535,243 income tax. Among former Prime Ministers of Pakistan, Shahid Khaqan Abbasi paid Rs4.87 million, Raja Pervaiz Asharf paid Rs87,761 and Syed Yousaf Raza Gilani paid no income tax.
Speaker National Assembly Asad Qaiser paid Rs555,794 as income tax and Rs1.434 million as share of tax paid by AOPs of which taxpayer is listed as member. Federal Minister for Finance and Revenue Shaukat Fayaz Ahmed Tarin paid Rs26.6m as income tax.
Federal Minister for Foreign Affairs Shah Mahmood Hussain Qureshi paid Rs851,955, Federal Minister for Planning Development and Special Initiatives Asad Umar Rs4.272 million, Defence Minister Pervez Khattak Rs1.257 million and Minister for Energy Hammad Azhar paid Rs29,025 as income tax and Rs18,059,678 as share of tax paid by AOPs of which taxpayer is listed as member.
Federal Minister for Information and Broadcasting Fawad Ahmed paid Rs138,808 as income tax and Rs 1,332 as share of tax paid by AOPs of which taxpayer is listed as member, Federal Minister for Human Rights Dr Shireen Mazari paid income tax Rs371, 033, Federal Minister for Federal Education and Professional Training Shafqat Mahmood paid Rs135,399, Federal Minister for Economic Affairs Omar Ayub Khan paid Rs957,497, Federal Minister for Industries and Production Khusro Bukhtyar paid Rs158,100, Federal Minister for Interior Sheikh Rashid Ahmed paid Rs557,450, Federal Minister for Maritime Affairs Syed Ali Haider Zaidi paid Rs1.047 million, Federal Minister for Privatization Muhammad Mian Soomro paid Rs 187,694, Federal Minister for Communication Murad Saeed paid Rs 86,606 and Federal Minister for Inter Provincial Coordination Dr Fehmida Mirza paid Rs98,063.
Punjab Chief Minister Sardar Usman Ahmed Khan Buzdar paid Rs2,000, Sindh Chief Miniser Syed Murad Ali Shah paid Rs1.92 million as income tax and Rs 495,791 as share of tax paid by AOPs of which taxpayer is listed as member. Chief Minister Khyber Pakhunkhawa Mahmood Khan paid Rs66,258 and Chief Minister Balochistan Abdul Quddus Bizenjo paid Rs1.061 million as income tax.
Among opposition leaders, Syed Khursheed Ahmed Shah of PPP paid Rs59,857, Sardar Ayaz Sadiq of PML-N paid Rs485,277, Syed Naveed Qamar of PPP paid Rs45,861 and Chairman Public Accounts Committee (PAC) Rana Tanveer Hussain paid Rs162,289 as income tax and Rs22,193 share of tax paid by AOPs of which taxpayer is listed as member, PTI Noor Alam Khan Rs82,311 and PML-N s Khawaja Saad Rafique Rs 269,414. Among other MPs, PML-N s Khawaja Asif paid Rs 230,386, Federal minister Ghulam Sarwar Khan Rs1.2 million, PPP s Shereen Rehman Rs940,000, Senator Farooq H Naik submitted Rs4.9 million, Senator Faisal Javed Rs66,000, Federal Minister for Railways Azam Khan Swati Rs784,000.
Chairman Senate Sadiq Sanjrani paid income tax of Rs1.3 million in the year 2019, Senator Faisal Vawda paid Rs1.16 million, Senator Talha Mahmood paid income tax of Rs32.2 million. Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan Senator Faisal Subzwari, Punjab Education Minister Murad Raas and Punjab Prisons Minister Fayyazul Hassan Chohan were among several lawmakers that paid Rs2,000.
Addressing the ceremony, Finance Minister said that governments around the world required sufficient revenue for running the affairs of the state, such as provision of public services, social sector development and defense etc. He reiterated that there was an urgent need for a fair, equitable and transparent taxation system to build a unified and prosperous society. “For this purpose, it was necessary that the lawmakers pay their due amount of tax and, thus, set an example for others to also discharge their national obligation,” he reaffirmed.
‘We are taking steps to bring transparency and simplification in the tax system,” Tarin said, adding that that Pakistan is unable to meet its current expenditure through its revenue, hence, it needs to borrow money from foreign lenders.
He said that there should be only two types of taxes — income tax and consumption tax. He further said that taxes will be charged according to the income of people. “We need to shift towards progressive taxation,” Tarin said, adding that NADRA is having names of 15 million potential taxpayers and the government would bring them into tax net.
Urging the politicians to pay taxes, Tarin said that Parliamentarians should set an example for other people by paying taxes.
“Tax reform aims to bring transparency,” he said, clarifying that the FBR will not harass anyone. “We will start sending notices to people from January and if anyone has any objection, they should contact the third party,” he said.
The finance minister stated that the board plans to raise the tax-to-GDP ratio from 15 to 20% in the next six years.
Earlier, Chairman FBR/Secretary Revenue Division in his welcome address highlighted the salient features of Parliamentarians’ Tax Directory for Tax Year-2019. He clarified that the incumbent government had decided to continue this initiative and publish Tax Directory for Tax Year, 2019 after making certain important improvements. “In the previous format, only the amount tax paid by parliamentarians was reflected which caused a lot of confusion.” Therefore, learning from the past experience and with the prior approval of the government, additional columns have been added to show the income under different categories i.e. normal, presumptive and agriculture. Likewise, last year total tax payment by an AOP was shown in which the honorable Parliamentarian was a member, this too created confusion. This year, on advice of the Cabinet, share of the parliamentarians’ tax paid by an AOP has also been shown, he continued.