Online system failure: FBR urged to allow tax depositors a chance for filing returns

The Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) must give a chance of taking benefit of the Tax Amnesty Scheme to those who have deposited tax amount within due time but could not file their returns by the end of July 31 because of online system failure.
Lahore Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI) Vice President, Zeshan Khalil stated this while talking to Business Recorder here on Thursday. He said such people deserved the benefit of amnesty scheme as they were willing to pay tax and also deposited the amount. The failure of online system was not a fault on the part of taxpayers, he said.
He said the FBR should also consider extension in Tax Amnesty Scheme 2018 coupled with awareness campaign that would help highest number of businesses to avail full benefit of this initiative by the previous regime. This scheme is beneficial for both the government and the business community as it would help promote documented economy besides providing opportunities to businessmen and general public to legalize their undeclared assets, he added.
"We have always demanded for broadening the tax net and lowering the tax rate. We expect this amnesty scheme will go a long way in achieving the desired results," he added.
The scheme would help broadening the tax net on the one hand and reduce the burden from the existing taxpayers on the other. It is a matter of concern that just around 1.2 million people are filing their income tax return in a country of more than 200 million people. This is the reason that tax-to-GDP ratio in Pakistan is poor," Zeshan Khalil added.
Tax consultant Muhammad Aslam Khan claimed that there are over 100 people only in Lahore who had deposited the tax amount on the last date i.e. July 31, 2018, but could not file their returns due to problem in the FBR portal.
He said the FBR needed money that has already been paid by the taxpayers, adding that filing of return is only a paper work. The FBR, therefore, should grant special permission to all those, particularly the businessmen, to file their tax returns who had paid their liabilities under the scheme, he added.
He further said that the government should extend the tax amnesty scheme till the end of this calendar year which would not only generate a good amount of revenue to the national exchequer but also help bring more people in the tax net.