15m high earners are not paying taxes: FBR chief

A staggering 15 million individuals, including agricultural income earners, are currently not paying any tax, the Federal Board of Revenue chairman disclosed on Wednesday. “This figure represents a significant portion of the population that remains outside the tax net,” Zubair Tiwana told a meeting of the Senate Standing Committee on Finance. It was chaired by Senator Saleem Mandviwalla. In reply to a question, Mr Tiwana said it was not feasible to impose taxes on low-income individuals, who constitute 65pc of the population. Mr Tiwana was hopeful that the tax deficit could be significantly reduced if 15m potential taxpayers “fulfil their obligations”. He said the number of taxpayers had reached 4.9m, claiming that 1.2m people were added to the tax net last year. The FBR chairman said even though 40pc of the national income is derived from agriculture, the sector does not contribute to the tax revenue. He also pointed out the absence of a significant number of housewives in Pakistan from the tax roll, indicating another potential area for tax expansion.