Chairman Pakistan Chemicals and Dyes Merchant Association (PCDMA) Haroon Agar has suggested that basic ration should be provided at subsidised prices at USC stores or ration shops using the CNIC card reading machines (like credit card machines), thus eliminating requirement for any new card and subsequent misuse or corruption.
Presently our government is relying only on fiscal measures to curb inflation. Administrative measures should also be taken to bring down prices of essential commodities. PDL and other government levies should be removed from diesel, furnace oil, natural gas etc to reduce production and transportation cost, thus making our industry competitive in international markets.
As subsidy on electricity has been withdrawn, we suggest removal of sales tax on electricity thus saving consumers from this extra burden. Government should go all out against electricity and natural gas theft. This battle should be fought like one on terrorism to save millions of honest consumers. Area-wise meters should be installed comparing consumption against billed units, thus identifying high risk areas, with all out action against areas having losses above 20%.
Transportation side of railways should be separated from its tracks. Two separate companies should be formed. Private operators may be allowed to run freight and passenger trains by paying track usage charges, thus improving efficiency and paving way for privatisation of railway's operations. Also increased revenues may be used to improve track network and safety.
In all tax laws should be drafted in such a way that penalties should be minimum for those registered under that tax and should be maximum for people avoiding coming into such net. Monitoring bodies including representatives from taxpayer's bodies should be formed at all levels to assess and ensure transparency in tax collection and government expenditures.
With Holding tax on supplies should be reduced from 3.5% to 1%. Their status may be changed from final discharge to With Holding/minimum tax. This will bring the intermediate suppliers into tax chain and shall improve documentation. Bringing new assesses in tax net, documentation of economy: Section 116(2) should be amended as follows:
Every resident person whose total income from any source or whose last declared or assessed income or the last declared income from the year is five hundred thousand rupees or more shall furnish a wealth statement and reconciliation for that year by due dates prescribed under the Income Tax Ordinance for furnishing the return of income for that year.
This shall bring more taxpayers into tax net, as they may not be able to hide in the garb of exempt income. Electronic Reconciliation of amounts remitted against imports and declared value of GDs filed: NTN number is used in I forms as well as Custom GDs. Hence by merging both data automatic reconciliation can be performed and in case of large difference, detailed analysis may be performed. This shall reduce the chances of under-invoicing and excess remittances thus saving precious foreign exchange.
Taxing the unproductive sectors: Taxation should be increased on sectors which are unproductive and non-essential, such as mobile phone, where taxation should be done on the basis of landline rates. Unchecked and cheap mobile phone rates have led to wastage of productive work hours of our nation. Also higher duty should be levied on imported luxury items and non-essential products. Steps should be taken to stop their smuggling and diversion from ATT.
Misdeclaration: It should be made mandatory for all assessing officers to seek Complete description including brand name, grade etc in GDs. One of the major methods of mis-declaration is to file GDs with incomplete description. The officers completing GDs filed without full description should be punished.