KTBA seeks enhanced development expenditures

KARACHI: Tax practitioners have demanded the government to create space for the development expenditures so that sustainable growth can be achieved.

The Karachi Tax Bar Association (KTBA), in its post-budget seminar on Thursday, said expenditures in the budget 2018/19 revolve around internal and external debt servicing, leaving less for the development.

The KTBA noted India had topped in the region with 8 percent GDP growth and it was followed by China and Malaysia. However, Pakistan is far behind this growth.

The tax practitioners said agriculture had presented dismal performance, despite having complete immunity from federal taxes. On the other side, services sector has maintained robust growth. The government should focus on to enhance contribution of agricultural and industrial sectors.

To increase compliance and remove inequity in the system, the KTBA urged the government to take steps for broadening the tax base.

Giving its reaction to the present budget, the KTBA said the PML-N government had delivered the whole year budget on the dictates of international economic regulators.

Abdul Qadir Memon, president of the Pakistan Tax Bar Association, said that gradual reduction in super and corporate taxes have been proposed through the Finance Bill 2018.

The powers of automatic selection for audit for late filers have been done away with, he said and commended the facilitation of taxpayers through a decision to select a taxpayer for audit only once in three years.

Memon highlighted major changes in indirect taxes such as monitoring, taxation of banking and ATM / credit card transactions and bringing commercial importers under the minimum tax regime.

He lauded the government for taking bold decision to monitor and tax real estate transactions.

The real estate sector carried huge informal economy and dumping yard for illicit money.

Memon said that in this regard builders and developers with any transactions have been made withholding agents.

Adnan Mufti, Member Tax Law Committee of the KTBA, said that changes introduced regarding audit were positive for the economy. He; however, suggested the government to conduct computerised balloting for audit selection once in three years.