A recent report has revealed that over a hundred member parliaments (MPs) are either evading income tax or not registered with the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR).
According to The News, 161 out of 1,170 MPs have no income tax record and haven’t filed any returns. A few dozen are not even registered with the tax authorities. This is a straight case of tax evasion as these MPs collectively own assets worth Rs. 35 billion.
76 of these MPs belonging to major political parties, including two federal ministers, are on the ‘in-active taxpayers list.’
Some of these parliamentarians have purchased properties collectively worth millions of dollars in Dubai, Norway, and London in the last decade. Around a dozen among them have declared businesses, namely construction companies, petrol pumps, etc., in the country.
The Parliamentarians Tax Directory for 2018 had no tax record of 323 parliamentarians out of the total 1,170 MPs. According to FBR data, 1,008 MPs paid taxes in the fiscal year 2018-19. 847 MPs collectively paid around Rs. 1.6 billion, while tax columns of 161 MPs were left blank.
The federal government has not yet released the tax directories for years 2019-2020 and 2020-2021.
More than 30 female MPs belonging to PTI, PMLN, PPP, MQM, JWP, BAP, ANP, JI, JUI-F, Pk-MAP, and BNP are not tax filers. They have their assets worth millions of rupees shown in the assets of their husbands. Nearly three dozen of them have assets worth over Rs. 100 million each, while a dozen MPs own assets of over Rs. 500 million each.
Section 114 of the tax laws, read with First Schedule of Income Tax Ordinance, 2001, suggests that individuals having taxable income of more than Rs. 400,000 (Rs. 600,000 for salaried class) are supposed to file tax returns.
When questioned as to why the authorities were putting a blind eye on non-tax-filing MPs, the FBR spokesperson said:
“We are barred by confidentiality laws. There can be any reason for which case of every individual will have to be checked, which is not called for.”
However, a tax expert, Ashfaq Tola, told the publication that the Tax Ordinance suggests punishment of MPs who are not registered with FBR.
“It has to proceed against these MPs for not being registered and being filers. Tax authorities could put such MPs on notice under Section 111 of Income Tax Ordinance,” he added.
