Islamabad:
The Senate Standing Committee on Finance postponed the approval of the Tax Laws Amendment Bill 2024.
The meeting of the Senate Standing Committee on Finance was chaired by Senator Saleem Mandviwala.
Senator Shibli Faraz said that the members of the committee are not complete, the quorum is not complete, the meeting should be postponed.
No member of Pakistan People’s Party, Muslim League-Nun, MQM-Pakistan and other parties participated in the meeting.
Later, the meeting of the Senate Standing Committee on Finance was adjourned. In the next session, the Tax Laws Amendment Bill 2024 will be reconsidered. FBR Chairman Rashid Mehmood Langriyal, while giving a briefing on the Tax Laws Amendment Bill, said that not being an active tax payer. In this case, the business will be sealed and the movable property will be taken into possession.
He said that there is no new tax in the tax laws amendment bill, only correcting non-filing and under-filing, the difference in income declaration and expenditure is huge.
He said that most of the businesses are unregistered or pay less tax, increasing the use of technology in sales tax registration.
Chairman FBR said that 95 percent of people will not be affected by the new proposals, the amendments will increase the tax-to-GDP ratio to 18 percent in five years.
Senator Salim Mandviwala said that business people are afraid of sales tax registration, business people have no knowledge about sales tax registration.
Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb said that the performance of the FBR will be reviewed, and the institution will be asked about its performance in June, while businessmen have been consulted on the bill.
In the meeting, Senator Shibli Faraz said that the people want the collected tax to be used for their well-being, the stricture for tax collection, the phone will be turned off, the account will be closed is not correct, there is a lack of trust between the people and the government. , measures are taken to collect taxes, the talk of roundups is not true.
The finance minister said that he will restore the trust between the tax authority and the taxpayers, the eradication of corruption is to be ensured, the restructuring of the FBR is being done.
The finance minister said that people who are not paying taxes are being brought into the tax net, everyone has to play their role in the economy, the rate of tax to GDP is 10.3% which will be taken to 13.5% in the next 3 years. Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb said that the size of the government will be reduced and the FBR policy unit will be separated. Our hands are tied.
