ISLAMABAD: The Rawalpindi Islamabad Tax Bar Association (RITBA) on Wednesday lauded the budget terming it balanced which help to widen that low tax base. However, it proposed some changes adjustments aimed at improvement and acceptability.
Chairing a meeting, President RITBA Syed Tauqeer Bukhari said that the process of sales tax registration in the finance bill has been simplified while taxpayers have been given some good incentives. He said that there are over 35000 industrial electricity connection but their majority is not a taxpayer that should be included in the tax net.
The definition of cottage industry has been changed and it’s no more exempted from the Sales Tax except for those located in the residential areas.He said that is difficult for the businessmen to put NIC number on every invoice; taxpayers should not be subjected to repeated audits while abolishing clause 1125 of the Sales Tax Act will hit the export sector which should be given a second thought.
The meeting was also attended by SVP RITBA Faraz Fazal Sheikh, VP Naeemul Haq Advocate, Media Coordinator Sofia Akhtar, Jamal Akhtar Mian, Safeer Ahmed, Azhar Hussain Sheikh, Habibullah, Khalid Masood Malik, Tauseef Alam, Hassan Raza Baluch, Ijaz Hussain Rathore and others who rejected the proposal to impose 17 percent tax on legal practitioners.Some of the proposals that will stoke inflation should be revisited as masses are already in trouble and they are finding it difficult to make both ends meet, they demanded.(INP)
