Voluntary Tax Compliance Scheme Attracts Rs. 250 Million in Tax Deposits
Voluntary Tax Compliance Scheme Attracts Rs. 250 Million in Tax Deposits
The Finance Ministry has revealed that 2507 returns have been filed under the Voluntary Tax Compliance Scheme (VTCS) and tax of Rs 250 million has been deposited so far.
The government recently announced VTCS to encourage non-filers to file their tax return for broadening of tax base. This scheme provides a simplified procedure for filing Income Tax returns and assessment for traders and it is intended to expand the tax base in the country.
The last date for filing of return under the scheme is March 15, 2016, revealed in the ministry documents.
The ministry has stated that it is not possible to estimate/ascertain exactly how many people in Pakistan have taxable income. However, number of returns and filers for tax year 2014 and 2015 are 1,047,170 and 923,346 respectively.
However, for the Tax Year 2015, the date for filing of returns for individuals and Association of Persons (AOPs) has been extended till 15th of March, 2016 and the number of return filers is expected to increase further.
It is also mentioned that number of NTN holders are 37, 92,475.
To determine exact number of taxpayers and to bring them into tax net, FBR has introduced a number of measures including creation of a National Data warehouse which includes data collected from various authorities such as data regarding purchase of immovable property, purchase of vehicles, and from electricity distribution companies.
For this purpose, a National Data Warehouse has been created in FBR. The data warehouse primarily includes the data collected through third party sources such as motor vehicle registering authorities, educational institutions, CVT collected by FBR and provincial government on purchase of immovable property, electricity distribution companies, automobile companies, insurance companies and the withholding tax statements. Based on this database, notices are being issued.
The results of these measures so far are:
- Number of notices issued: 250, 021
- Number of returns enforced: 48, 043
- Tax paid with the returns: Rs. 1.3 (billion)
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