THE government on Monday made public the income details of members of Parliament, showing a twenty-eight percent decline in the taxes paid by the lawmakers and that one in ten legislators did not even file the tax returns in 2019. 392 members of the National Assembly and the Senate declared a cumulative income of Rs 11 billion but they paid a mere Rs 576 million in taxes.
This means that the parliamentarians paid just 5.2 percent of their income – far lower than the standard maximum tax rate of 35 percent for a salaried class.
These elected representatives are the ones who frame laws including those relating to taxes, hence, they should be role models for the people in paying taxes instead of finding ways to evade them.
In fact when the lawmakers themselves resort to such tactics, it shakes the trust of the common man on the whole system who then complain that why should they pay taxes when those sitting at the helm of affairs are reluctant to do so. Given our one of the lowest tax to GDP ratio in the world, we have to develop a culture of paying taxes in the country and the lawmakers will have to lead from the front. In Parliament, many businessmen and agriculturists are sitting and what they pay in taxes does not match their lifestyle.
For instance, one lawmaker paid only Rs 315 in taxes. Such cases must be investigated by the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) and findings be brought before the masses. Those paying their taxes honestly must also be commended and projected appropriately as it will also encourage the common man to come forward and contribute their share in the economy.
For instance, Prime Minister Imran Khan paid Rs 9.9 million income tax, excluding the tax on agriculture income, which equalled to 22.7 percent of his declared income of Rs 43.6 million. He is the tenth highest taxpayer amongst the 392 members of Parliament. Amongst the list paying better taxes is also leader of the opposition in the National Assembly Shahbaz Sharif.
Other lawmakers should also follow their suit as it is only paying taxes, we can better meet the financial challenges and take the country towards self-reliance. To promote tax culture, it is also important to further simplify the tax payment system as well as filing the returns. Most of the tax payers do not file returns because the online forms are too complicated to be filled by an ordinary person.
