Tax Directory to disclose information about 0.85 million taxpayers: to be published by April 15

The Federal Board of Revenue will make public details of annual income and tax paid by all 0.85 million taxpayers in a Tax Directory to be published by April 15, 2014. Sources told Business Recorder here on Monday that the FBR has finalised the tax directory of all return filers and final approval of Finance Minister Ishaq Dar is required before publication.
The information would cover all categories of taxpayers including leading, businessmen, service providers, prominent players, artists, public/private sector employees and all other income tax return filers. The private and confidential information of taxpayers, who are regular income tax return filers, would be made public by the FBR. So far, the FBR has decided to disclose declared income and tax payments of the registered persons excluding assets. The Board has yet not decided to disclose details of the moveable and immovable assets declared in the income tax returns and wealth statements.
Referring to sub-section 5 and 6 of the section 216 of the Income Tax Ordinance 2001, official said that FBR is legally empowered to publish tax directory containing information of tax payments made by the taxpayers. According to sub-section 5 of the section 216 of the Income Tax Ordinance 2001, ''nothing contained in sub-section (1) shall prevent the Board from publishing, with the prior approval of the Federal Government, any such particulars as are referred to in that sub-section.
As per sub-section 6 of the section 216 of the Income Tax Ordinance 2001, ''nothing contained in sub-section (1) shall prevent the Federal Government from publishing particulars and the amount of tax paid by a holder of a public office as defined in the National Accountability Bureau Ordinance, 1999''.