100 plus MPs may be declared tax non-filers by FBR

Tax Directory 

ISLAMABAD: About 100 or more parliamentarians belonging to different political parties will be declared as non-filers as they have so far not filed their tax returns.

The FBR is going to launch its tax directory on Saturday and all those who have not submitted their tax returns within the stipulated time frame on February 14, will be declared as “non-filers”.

Finance Minister Ishaq Dar said on Friday night the government would publish the Tax Directory and it was good beginning. “The government has issued NTNs to all 1172 parliamentarians and pursued them to file their returns. There were many who filed their returns and only 100 had not yet filed. The government has opted a difficult path in the interest of the country,” he said.

“The FBR has so far received 1,052 income tax returns from parliamentarians including members of National Assembly, Senate and four provincial assemblies out of total 1172, indicating that 120 have failed to file their returns and they will be declared as non-filers in the tax directory,” senior FBR officials confirmed to The News here on Friday evening.

Official sources said that few parliamentarians might submit their e-returns till midnight or offices of the FBR would remain open in NA, Senate and four provincial assemblies so there were chances some more would come forward to file their returns.

When contacted FBR’s Senior Member IR Shahid Hussain Asad, who is also the official spokesman, confirmed that the Board would launch the tax directory of parliamentarians on its website on Saturday. “We will come to our offices for the purpose of placing tax details of parliamentarians on our website,” he added.

When asked about those who failed to discharge their national duty of submitting tax returns, he concluded that they would be declared as non-filers in our tax directory.After the intervention of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, the parliamentarians belonging to ruling party were pursued vigorously to come forward and file their tax returns.

The government spared no stone unturned to convince the parliamentarians for filing of tax returns in a bid to avoid wrath of masses and media as the concept of no representation, without taxation was torn apart.

“What the government will do to tackle the issue of non-filers is not yet known but it will definitely raise questions about moral justification on the basis of which the National Assembly approves imposition of taxes,” said the sources.

It will be established and become part of the record that these assemblies will have MPs who do not bother to discharge their national duty.The Nawaz Sharif government was forced to publish tax directory of parliamentarians when renowned reporter Umar Cheema unveiled detailed report about tax payments of parliamentarians.The government promised to launch tax directory of parliamentarians till Feb 15 and general tax directory in March this year.