Lahore: Punjab Excise and Taxation Department (E&T) – in collaboration with the British government’s Department for International Development (DFID) – has outlined an innovative and tech-smart solution to trace tax-evading properties under the Sub-National Governance (SNG2) programme, according to a news story published on today (December 16).
Under this ‘Track & Trace’ project, the authorities will use satellite imagery to trace hidden properties and vacant plots. With the help of high-resolution satellite images of different areas, the Management Information System (MIS) data will be updated in order to aid the excise department to unveil the number of the properties and vacant plots that have been registered under the tax net and those that are still hidden.
During the pilot testing, owners of over 4,000 vacant plots and buildings located in three housing societies in Lahore were found to be evading property taxes.
The E&T Department also announced that this system will also trace and stop motor vehicles with outstanding token taxes at the city’s entrances and exits – with the help of advanced scanning machines. To this effect, the E&T department is also working on a data-sharing agreement to be signed by the departments of Sindh, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, and Islamabad to identify pending payments for token taxes.
Hazafa reveres the art of writing and has been turned into a property enthusiast by profession. Her daily survival kit includes; tea, coffee, keyboard and paperbacks.
