Two Million Tax evaders in Pakistan
The tax authorities have detected some 2 million individuals who have not filed their tax returns and the government would give them a last chance to file their income tax returns by December 15, Federal Minister for Finance and Revenues, Shaukat Tareen, said.
Some of these people have National Tax Number and are not filing their income tax return while half of them don't have NTN. The government would ask them to come forward voluntary and pay their due taxes. Tareen informed that if they were able to increase the revenue collection, then there would be no need for IMF loan package. He said that 8.8 percent tax-to-GDP ratio is totally unacceptable and the government is trying to increase this ratio to 10.6 percent this year with an increase of 1.8 percent in the GDP.
He said that GST is under performing area in the tax system as GST collection amounts to 3 percent of the GDP in Pakistan and it is way behind other countries whereas it stands at 7 percent in Sri Lanka and 9.5 percent in Turkey. The government is planning to introduce VAT regime in the country to bridge the growing gap in tax collection.