Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) Chairman Rashid Mahmood Langrial is reportedly moving to spare salaried individuals from advance income tax notices, sources said on Tuesday. According to them, the chairman considers charging advance tax on people who depend entirely on wages to be unjustified.
Salaried taxpayers across the country have reportedly been receiving quarterly demands to pay advance income tax. Under the proposal, people whose only income is their salary would no longer receive these notices, while those earning from other sources may still owe adjustable advance tax, sources added.
Proposed relief for salary-only taxpayers
Any extra advance tax collected from salaried people would be adjusted immediately, the sources said. The step is intended to lighten the financial load on wage earners.
The plan comes as unease grows over how the tax burden falls on salaried people and whether taxes are shared fairly among different income groups.
Asad Umar criticises tax and petroleum policy
Former finance minister Asad Umar had earlier argued that the salaried class paid more than Rs600 billion in taxes last year, while landlords contributed less than Rs10 billion. In an interview, he said economic growth remained weak while inflation and poverty had increased.
Umar said Pakistan had experienced record-high inflation, and government figures indicated a rise in the number of people living below the poverty line. On petroleum, he argued the government should have cut the petroleum levy when international oil prices rose 60 to 70 per cent. He alleged that instead, taxes on petroleum products were raised alongside fuel prices.
