PESHAWAR: The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government will charge a fixed amount of sales tax on services from restaurants and wedding halls across the province, while, all the restaurants and wedding halls will be registered and brought into the tax net.

This was stated by the Advisor to KP chief minister on Finance, Muzammil Aslam, at a consultative session on subordinate legislation under the KP Sales Tax Act 2022 arranged by Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Revenue Authority (KPRA) at local hotel.

He was the chief guest in the session which was funded by the Sub National Governance Program and was attended by lawyers, tax experts, government officials, withholding agents, businessmen, and representatives of the chambers of commerce.

He said that the 23 percent property tax charged in the province is very high which is why people have opted for stamp papers and only 6 percent of the property tax collected in the province is paid to the province and the rest goes to the federal government.

To encourage women entrepreneurs, the Advisor directed DG KPRA to establish a women’s desk in KPRA. He added that 93% of the province budget is dependent on federal transfers, which is overly reliance on the federal government and the fiscal space with the provincial government is shrinking.

Director General of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Revenue Authority Fouzia Iqbal said after the enactment of KP Sales Tax Act 2022, we desperately needed to draft and formulate rules and regulations under the Act for smooth and efficient imposition and functioning of Act. She said that the subordinate legislation will bring accountability in the working of the enforcement officers and will shelter the taxpayers from harassment at the hands of the enforcement officers.

“We needed the rules and regulations for the effective administration of sales tax in the province and to smoothly plead our cases in the courts,” she said adding that the gathering aimed to incorporate the suggestions of all stakeholders and to make the legislations effective and beneficial for both KPRA and the stakeholders.

Muzammil Aslam said that revenue from taxation is the lifeblood of nations, underpinning their ability to serve their people and foster prosperity. “We want to see KP financially self-reliant and the journey toward self-sufficiency demands a long-term strategy, and effective legislation.”

Copyright Business Recorder, 2024