Islamabad: The Supreme Court of Pakistan (SC) has ordered wealthy taxpayers to deposit 50% of their due supertax to the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) within one week, news sources reported on February 6.
Moreover, the apex court ordered the recovery of 10% of the supertax imposed on 13 industries earning PKR 150 million or more. The court modified the interim orders of the Lahore High Court (LHC), which had stayed the recovery proceedings from high-earning taxpayers.
As per the FBR sources, the supertax recovery would bring PKR 250 billion into government coffers and help bridge the tax gap that has reached 5.12%, or PKR 214 billion, in the first seven months (July–January) of 2022–23. The SC order has allowed the FBR to recover tax from sectors including; steel, banking, cement, cigarettes, chemicals, beverages, liquefied natural gas terminals, airlines, textiles, automobiles, sugar mills, oil and gas, and fertilizer.
It is important to note that the government modified the Finance Act, 2022, by inserting a new Section 4C in the income tax ordinance, allowing FBR to collect a one-time super tax from industries. However, the LHC stayed the order and directed FBR to allow different industries to file their returns excluding the supertax, subject to the deposit of post-dated cheques for the differential amount.
Nauman Ahmad is an imaginative Pisces whose love for literature and nature is unparalleled. When he's not reading or hiking, he's sleeping and eating, which gives him plenty of energy for his next adventure.
