LAHORE - Withholding tax on banking transactions will be reverted to 0.6 percent from existing level of 0.3 percent after Feb 29 when the Voluntary Tax Compliance Scheme is over. After the VTCS scheme ends, the non-filers, who are evading tax through benami accounts transaction, will be caught because the benami transaction account prohibition is being introduced in a couple of months.
This was announced by Federal Finance Minister Ishaq Dar while addressing the traders convention organized jointly by the All Pakistan Anjuman-e-Tajiran (Naeem Mir Group) and Federal fl of Revenue here on Thursday.
The convention was also addressed by PM special assistant on Revenue Haroon Akhtar Khan, FBR officials and APAT general secretary Naeem Mir. Ishaq Dar said that VTCS will help in broadening the tax net and increase the revenue and this will result in low taxation in future.
He warned that after the lapse of scheme, the non-filers will not only have to pay 0.6 percent WHT but also 35 penalties for not paying tax.
The finance minister appreciated the role of APAT for organising the convention, adding that our collective responsibility to make this scheme a success.
The finance minister said that earlier opposition was against this scheme and calling it as immoral but later on they urged the government to broaden this scheme to other sectors. He said now Pakistan outlook has been turned into positive from negative. He said that foreign reserves which dropped to 4 billion dollars now jumped up to four times. Banks have 14 billion dollars. Our policies were acknowledged by World Bank president, who recently visited Pakistan. Our macroeconomic indicators are showing healthy signs. I would request opposition to join us and sign a charter of economy. We want to make Pakistan a prosperous and leading economy in the world.
Special Assistant on Revenue Haroon Akhtar said that FBR is now been called as friendly board of revenue as we are coming to door steps of traders, which was never seen in the past. Voluntary Tax Compliance Scheme is remarkable one. We accepted traders demands, and now they are not required to go for sales tax registration, no withholding agent and no audit for 4 years under this scheme. Haroon Akhtar said that as many as 3.5 million traders across the country would get benefit and would enter into the system, which would ultimately help economic development of the country.
Naeem Mir, addressing the traders convention, said that VTCS has offered a rare and golden opportunity to the traders to become part of the tax net and do their business with ease and comfort and without any fear of being audited for the next four years.
In the scheme FBR has accepted all demands of the traders remaining in the system and law. He said that all points of the tax amnesty scheme were finalised with the approval of traders.
He said that the amnesty scheme is a move to broaden tax base and not whitening of black money. He said that the scheme is the best package for small traders and we will go forward with this plan of improving tax to GDP ratio in the country. APAT has attempted to bring additional one million new taxpayers in tax net in the next three years and who is trying to politicise the issue is actually sabotaging the move of tax collection,” he said.