Islamabad: The Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) has announced plans to increase the assessed value of immovable properties in major urban cities from 75% to 90% of the market rate.
This adjustment will be formalized through an official government notification expected to be issued in July 2024. This move aims to align property valuations more closely with market rates. In other significant developments, the FBR is set to introduce a new simplified tax scheme for retailers, replacing the unsuccessful voluntary Tajir Dost Scheme. The new approach aims to streamline tax processes for the retail sector and improve compliance.
Senator Faisal Vawda, speaking to reporters after a Senate panel meeting, confirmed that the federal budget for the upcoming year will be passed despite any challenges. He emphasized that the approval of the budget is imperative and will proceed as planned. Mir Badshah Wazir, FBR’s Member Inland Revenue (IR) Operations, highlighted that the revision of property valuation rates will follow the approval of the 2024-25 budget, reinforcing the FBR’s commitment to updating property assessments.
The Senate panel has also recommended the abolition of the 10% GST on newsprint, aiming to reduce costs for the print media industry. The FBR reported efforts to expand the tax base, successfully adding 1.5 million new tax filers in the previous fiscal year. However, Senator Anusha Rahman argued that without more drastic measures, the number of tax filers would not increase significantly and suggested incarcerating non-filers as a possible solution.
The total number of tax filers stands at approximately 4.5 million, but concerns were raised by Senators Farooq Naek and others regarding the prevalence of “nil-filers”—those who file taxes but report no taxable income. FBR officials admitted that over 30% of filers could be “zero-filers” but did not provide exact figures. Furthermore, the FBR disclosed that tax authorities uncovered Rs 756 billion worth of alleged tax fraud through fake or flying invoices, leading to the arrest of 70-80 individuals. The steel sector was identified as a major contributor to these fraudulent activities, with scrap steel-related schemes causing estimated annual losses of Rs 60-70 billion to the national treasury.
Chairman of the Senate Standing Committee on Finance, Saleem Mandviwala, criticized the FBR’s efforts to incorporate undocumented sectors into the tax net, stating that despite claims over the past 12 years, no substantial progress has been made
