Islamabad: The Federal Board of Revenue has decided to cut off electricity and gas connections for those who do not file their income tax returns, and to block mobile sims.
According to the Federal Board of Revenue, Prime Minister Imran Khan has emphasized on increasing the number of tax filers and revenue growth in recent meetings, for which measures are being taken.
The announcement states that action will be taken under section 114B of the Income Tax Ordinance 2001 against non-filers, in which notices will be sent to citizens who do not submit their income tax returns, and if they still do not comply, their electricity and gas connections will be cut off, and their mobile sims will be blocked.
The Federal Board of Revenue has set up 145 district tax offices across the country to broaden the tax base. These new offices will work on bringing 15 to 20 million new taxpayers into the tax net by June 2024.
The spokesperson for the Federal Board of Revenue stated that this new initiative will help in broadening the tax base and increasing the tax to GDP ratio to the desired level, while the heads of these offices will be grade 16 and 18 officers from the Inland Revenue.
The spokesperson also believes that the establishment of these offices will make it easier to bring all potential taxpayers into the tax net, and the district officers of the Inland Revenue will obtain and use third-party data regarding potential taxpayers from various departments and organizations.
It was also mentioned in the announcement that a new legislative document is being introduced, under which various agencies and departments will be required to provide data to the FBR through an automatic transmission system. Chairperson Nausheen has expressed confidence in the assistance provided by data integration in expanding the tax base.
The establishment of district tax offices will also provide convenience to taxpayers in submitting their tax returns.
It should be noted that the FBR has decided to bring 20 million individuals into the tax net by the end of the current fiscal year, and the aforementioned measures have been taken in light of this decision.