Tax culture: new generation of businessmen carry positive thinking

Chief Commission Regional Tax Office-II Kh Adnan Zahir said the new generation of businessmen are positive to the tax culture because of their educational background. "They have international educational background and carry a positive thinking towards the tax system," he said and expressed the hope that the new generation would change the mindset of trade associations and chambers.
He was responding to a query regarding the documentation drive by the governments in recent past. He said the government has changed its strategy by introducing the concept of tax filers and non-filers and has fixed certain incentives to the filers. "This is a carrot and stick policy and the wholesalers, traders and distributors prefer to register with the tax machinery to avail benefits. This policy has been successful as multiple transactions including bank withdrawals, vehicle tokens and National Saving Certificates are covered under the tax incentive scheme," he said.
"But still we cannot claim that this incentive scheme has won the hearts of the all the wholesalers of Shah Alam Market or The Mall Road," he admitted. According to him, the RTO has no access to certain trading areas as such because of the vested interests of traders' associations and Chambers of Commerce and Industry. He stated, "We are not in favour of creating unrest in result of a head on collision with these bodies and instead prefer to follow a policy of gradual follow up."
He said the tax base cannot be doubled overnight because of the multiple factors including illiteracy, non-realisation of national duty and anti-tax social pressures that motivate the self-consciousness and values of the taxpayer. However, he pointed out that the new generation of businessmen were coming with a different mindset and carry entirely different approach comparing to the older generations.
He said the accountability of tax system has been strengthened through a strict monitoring to check pilferage. "Salaries of tax officers have been made lucrative," he added. According to him, there was not a single case of corruption since last one-and-a-half-year. Media would not let any such practice go unnoticed, if any. "It is because of a strong evaluation and monitoring that the number of corruption complaints has dropped drastically." However, filing of frivolous complaints is a yet different issue, he added.
He said Okara district is the best performer after the Lahore district in terms of tax revenue generation. Okara is followed by Sheikhupura, Kasur and Nankana Sahib. He said 90 percent of tax collection is made from the Lahore district followed by rest of the districts. Therefore, the prime focus of the RTO is towards Lahore.