The Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) in Pakistan is facing substantial obstacles in its objective to integrate professionals such as doctors, engineers, and lawyers within the tax net, as mandated by the International Monetary Fund (IMF), despite resistance from these experts.
According to FBR officials, the IMF has encouraged Pakistan to ensure that all professionals earning taxable income are registered for taxation. However, the FBR’s efforts to register hundreds of thousands of doctors, engineers, and lawyers are greeted with fierce opposition from these professional organizations.
As part of its ongoing efforts, the FBR has forwarded data on 70,000 doctors and 120,000 engineers to field formations for registration purposes, while lawyers refuse to be included in the tax net because they have not acquired responded to the notices sent to them. The bureau says its efforts to bring hundreds of thousands of lawyers, doctors, and engineers into the tax net have been met by resistance.
To overcome the obstacles created by the legal profession, the FBR aims to work with tax bar associations to streamline lawyer registration. Furthermore, the FBR intends to step up its efforts against non-filers once the new government takes office, according to sources.
According to sources, progress on broadening the tax net would be relayed to the IMF during the future discussions. Notably, FBR authorities report that the number of people filing tax returns has climbed dramatically, to more than 3.8 million, up from three million during the same period previous year.
The FBR is working hard to provide the framework for negotiations with the IMF, which are set to take place in March and April. Pakistan faces difficulty in navigating the complexities of tax reforms and compliance posed by professionals’ resistance underscore the importance of effective measures to enhance revenue generation and fiscal stability.
