Due to lack of awareness about the taxation system, a large number of taxpayers, especially salaried persons, are paying excess amount as income tax. According to the directive of the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR), employers are deducting a certain percentage of the income of employees as tax.
However, salaried employees never know how much income is being deducted from their wages as income tax. They pay excess income tax in several heads including utility bills, cellular phone bills, motor vehicle tax, etc. They are paying huge amount on account of taxes including sales tax, income tax, special tax and federal excise duty at every routine transaction. But it is not being spent on the welfare of common man.
It is common practice in almost every developed country that the amount deducted as tax is utilised for the welfare of the taxpayers. But this exercise is hardly followed in Pakistan where taxpayers are far from getting benefits from their taxes paid, and are deprived of the basic amenities.
When contacted some officials in tax office said that FBR has established comprehensive computerised system, called 'Automated Refund Issuance Cell' (ARIC) to facilitate taxpayers. They said that ARIC was established to eliminate human role in processing taxpayers' returns, besides, issuing refund cheques on immediate basis.
They said that salaried taxpayers were paying excess amount on account of income tax during several transactions in daily life. They dispelled the perception that only employers have right to file annual statements of their employees, saying that according to income tax rules, taxpayers may file annual income tax returns, individually.
They urged salaried taxpayers to file separate annual income tax returns, if excess amount had been charged as income tax, and added that ARIC was aimed to provide maximum benefits to taxpayers. Further, they said that below Rs 50000 income tax refunds claims were processed rapidly and the cheques in this regard would be dispatched within a few days.
They said that around 7000 refund claims have so far been processed, which was up to Rs 50000, during current fiscal year and added that ARIC has issued some 1300 refund cheques to the taxpayers. They expected that ARIC would process around 15000 refund claims by the end of February. They said that some 0.2 million salaried persons have been inducted in tax net and added that some 99000 non-filers, whose income tax was deducted, would be issued NTN cards shortly.