ISLAMABAD: Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) Chairman Rashid Mahmood Langrial has taken notice of advance income tax notices issued to salaried individuals, ARY News reported on Tuesday, citing sources.
According to sources, the FBR chairman believes that imposing advance income tax on individuals who rely solely on their salaries is unjustified.
However, individuals earning income from sources other than their salaries may be liable to pay adjustable advance tax, sources added.
The additional advance income tax collected from salaried individuals will be adjusted immediately, according to sources.
Salaried taxpayers across the country had reportedly been receiving notices requiring them to pay advance income tax on a quarterly basis.
Under the proposed measure, individuals whose only source of income is their salary will no longer receive advance income tax notices, sources said.
The move is aimed at easing the financial burden on salaried individuals.
The development comes amid growing concerns over the tax burden on salaried individuals and calls for a more equitable distribution of taxes among different income groups.
Salaried class paid Rs600bn, landlords less than Rs10bn in taxes: Asad Umar
Earlier, former finance minister Asad Umar criticised the government’s economic policies, claiming that the salaried class paid more than Rs600 billion in taxes last year, while landlords contributed less than Rs10 billion.
Speaking in an interview with ARY News, Umar said economic growth had remained weak while inflation and poverty had increased.
He said Pakistan had experienced record-high inflation and that government figures indicated a rise in the number of people living below the poverty line.
Commenting on petroleum prices and taxation, the former finance minister argued that the government should have reduced the petroleum levy when international oil prices increased by 60 to 70 per cent. Instead, he alleged, taxes on petroleum products had been raised alongside fuel prices.