Punjab to tax rich and their posh lifestyle
Punjab to tax rich and their posh lifestyle
ISLAMABAD: The Punjab government will significantly tax posh facilities used by the elite like private swimming pools, large farmhouses, private medical colleges, multi-source income shown as proceeds from agriculture land holdings and sprawling houses in expensive localities.
“The purpose is to tax the rich. The move is part of efforts to generate own resources in order to lessen dependence on foreign grants and loans,” a senior official told our sources. Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif recently announced to smash the begging bowl and mobilize indigenous resources to meet the pressing financial requirements.
Farmhouses measuring 2400 square yards (four kanals) and above will be required to pay a certain amount of annual tax. The official said farmhouses having the covered area of 5,000 square feet and above and having different sizes would be categorized for the purposes of levying various amounts of tax.
Only those farmhouses would be taxable, which are located outside the “rating areas” meaning the previously demarcated municipal limits. The official said that even in villages, rich people have made big houses, which would fall in the definition of farmhouses and would face the new tax. The tax would be computed on per square foot.
He said that a number of wealthy people have made swimming pools in their houses mostly in basements in Lahore and some other cities, but were paying no tax whatsoever. While in many countries tube wells are not allowed to be erected, these pools get water from such sources, the official said.
He said that as scores of private medical colleges in Punjab were charging exorbitant fees from students, they were not paying taxes. They have to be brought in the tax net so that they also make contribution to national resources.
According to one estimate, there are some 3,000 students studying in the private medical colleges in Punjab alone. They charge heavy fees starting with the minimum of half a million rupees per annum and going up to one million.
Another category being brought in the tax net consists of those who have multi-sources income, which is clubbed with earnings from agriculture land. These people own factories and other businesses but show their income from them as coming from agriculture just to get tax exemption. This income would be levied agriculture tax, which is a provincial subject.
They generally show their factories and businesses running into losses and whatever they earn from them, they declare as income from agriculture for exemption. The official said that tax on expansive houses in posh localities like Gulberg and Model Town and such areas in other cities, mostly described as A category residences, would be considerably enhanced.
“The whole effort is to tax a certain lifestyle because if you are rich, earn a lot from different sources and spend generously on the facilities you are enjoying, you have to pay the due tax,” the official said.
He said that homework on these proposals has been concluded, and the new taxes would be included in the next budget to be presented in a few weeks time. Billions would come in the coffers of the cash-starved Punjab government through such measures, he said and believed that still there were many areas, which were untaxed.
End.
Salman replied on Wednesday, May 25, 2011 07:21 PM PST
First of all Nawaz Sharif should pay tax himself. He only paid Rs. 5000/- last year. |
Salman replied on Wednesday, May 25, 2011 07:28 PM PST
Secondly, more than 75% of your Members of Parliament haven't paid a single penny in Tax and that includes our Finance Minister, PM and President. If they have money to contest elections, drive lavish cars, keep property in Pakistan and abroad, why dont they pay first.... |
Pakistani replied on Wednesday, May 25, 2011 10:07 PM PST
@123
shukar karo us ne 5000 bhi de diye. warna woh bhi na deta to hum kiya kar saktay thay :) |
tzk replied on Thursday, May 26, 2011 03:21 AM PST
nawaz paid 5000 for either 2007 or 2008 now paid more but still very little. these crooks have to stand up and pay their fair share. They start it and we will do multiple times more. Lets say nawaz, zardari, gilani, kyani, altaf etc etc or atleast 10% of the leaders declare all of their wealth and give 10% to the country and i will give 50% of whatever i have |
Nawaz Sharif Tax replied on Thursday, May 26, 2011 07:54 PM PST
Though Nawaz Sharif pays a very little amount of tax individually but his Mills and other Business areas pay significant amount of tax , which is in billions.
The taxable amount that should be paid by Nawaz Sharif as in individual should be the based on his perosnal spendings per month which i belive would be under 0.5 million.Still , its his duty to pay no doubt about that but i would like to repeast they do pay taxes from their respective businesses which is in the range of 3-5 billion rupees per annum. |
ua replied on Friday, May 27, 2011 12:55 AM PST
If the personal earnings are Rs. 0.5 million, the tax liability still be a lot more than Rs. 5000. I earn a fraction of 0.5 million and pay a lot more than Rs. 5000 in a single month!! |
tzk replied on Friday, May 27, 2011 04:15 AM PST
Mr Nawaz Sharif Tax:
Tax paid by the companies of sharif family is NOT income tax. Major portion of the tax paid by those companies is the tax they collect from people and pay to govt on our behalf.
For the argument sake, lets say all the tax paid by his companies is the tax not collected by these companies but paid by them from their own resources, still it is not tax by nawaz shareef. Whatever money goes to Nawaz shareef, he has to pay personal income tax on that.
Just check with people who are doing business
I have small business where we dont sell products and hence we dont collect sales tax, but the company pays all kinds of taxes including corporate income tax. On top of that me and my partnerrs pay income tax on the income we get from that business.
Is it too complicated to understand? Stop giving that crap that the tax collected and submitted to the govt by sugar mills and other companies of nawaz is his personal income tax. It is NOT! |
eh replied on Friday, May 27, 2011 06:18 PM PST
Zardari's father owned 1 cinema during 70's and the business has a downward trend since then even then his businesses are in profit and he has purchase so many palace, properties in many countries. Did anybody checked how much tax he has paid. Where he is multiplying his money every year, if it is within Pakistan; is he paying any tax and if it is abroad how much taxes he is paying abroad? From where he got all that wealth to buy those palaces and properties? Is it from that cinema of his father or he is selling something else? |
LRE Hot Topics replied on Friday, May 27, 2011 08:27 PM PST
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