FBR releases tax directory of Pakistan's parliamentarians

The Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) on Friday has released the tax directory of Pakistan's elected representatives for the year 2018.

Advisor to Prime Minister on Finance and Revenue Abdul Hafeez Shaikh speaking at a ceremony to release tax directory and hold balloting for the audit of the taxpayers in Islamabad on Friday informed that some 90 Senators and 311 Members of the Parliament have paid taxes of about Rs 800 million.

Whereas the Members of the Provincial Assemblies have paid over Rs 340 million in taxes, he said.

According to FBR’s Parliamentarians' Tax Directory for Tax Year 2018, Prime Minister Imran Khan paid Rs 282,449 whereas former prime minister and PML-N parliamentarian Shahid Khaqan Abbasi paid the highest tax of Rs 241,329,362.

Former president and PPP Co-Chairperson Asif Ali Zardari paid Rs 2,891,455 in taxes, whereas his son PPP Chairperson Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari paid Rs 294,117 in taxes.

Among other leading politicians, ex-chief minister Punjab and PML-N President Shehbaz Sharif paid Rs 9,730,545, while his son and parliamentarian Hamza Shehbaz paid Rs 8,705,368 in taxes.

Speaker National Assembly Asad Qaiser paid Rs 537,730 direct taxes and Rs 5,790,500 as AOP, Chairperson Senate Sadiq Sanjrani paid Rs 1,363,414 in taxes, Deputy Chairperson Senate Saleem Mandviwalla paid Rs 1,591,722 in taxes.

CM Balochistan's Jam Kamal was the highest taxpayer among chief ministers and paid Rs 4,808,948 in taxes, while Sindh's CM Murad Ali Shah paid Rs 1,022,184 in taxes and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa's CM Mahmood Khan paid Rs 235,982, whereas, CM Punjab Usman Bazdar did not pay any tax during this period.

Among the ministers in the cabinet, Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi paid Rs 183,900 in taxes, Information and Broadcasting Minister Shibli Faraz paid Rs 367,460 in taxes, Interior Minister Ijaz Ahmad Shah paid Rs 58,120 in taxes.

Human Rights Minister Shireen Mazari paid Rs 2,435,650 in taxes, Law Minister and Senator Farogh Naseem paid Rs 35,135,459 in taxes, and was among the highest tax payer in the Senate.

Furthermore, Defence Minister Pervez Khattak paid Rs 1,826,899 in taxes, Planning Minister Asad Umer paid Rs 5,346,342 in taxes, Railways Minister Sheikh Rashid Ahmed paid Rs 579,011 in taxes, Aviation Minister Ghulam Sarwar Khan paid Rs 1,046,669 in taxes.

Narcotics Control Minister Azam Khan Swati paid Rs 590,916 in taxes, Power Minister Omar Ayub Khan paid Rs 26,055,517 in taxes. Meanwhile, Religious Affairs Minister Noor-ul-Haq Qadri paid no direct taxes, State Minister for Parliamentary Affairs Ali Muhammad Khan paid Rs 430,695 in taxes.

Shehryar Afridi, the Minister for States and Frontier Regions (SAFRON) paid Rs 183,900 in taxes, Kashmir and Gilgit-Baltistan Affairs Minister Ali Amin Gandapur paid Rs 378,763 in taxes, Minister for Communications and Postal Services Murad Saeed paid Rs 374,728 in taxes.

Minister for Industries and Production Minister Hammad Azhar paid Rs22,445 in taxes, Economic Affairs Minister Khusro Bakhtiar paid Rs 624,292 in taxes, Minister for Maritime Affairs Ali Haider Zaidi paid Rs 896,191 in taxes.

Furthermore, National Food Security and Research Minister Fakhar Imam paid Rs 5,212,137 in taxes, Education Minister Shafqat Mahmood paid Rs 231,730, Minister for Water Resources Faisal Vawda paid nothing in direct taxes, and IT and Telecommunication Minister Aminul Haque paid Rs 66,749 in direct taxes.