Islamabad, Oct 21: FBR Drafts New Tax Laws to Eliminate Non-Filers and Late Filers
In order to do away with the terms “late filers” and “non-filers” from the Income Tax Ordinance of 2001, the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) has created the Tax Laws Amendment Ordinance 2024.
The draft measure that would do away with the notions of late filers and non-filers is now being worked on. The Finance Act of 2024 created the “late filer” category, which has already been contested in the Lahore High Court. Every taxpayer must provide proof of their income in order to conduct financial transactions, such as buying a car or property.
In this sense, the new law would establish various financial thresholds and limits for each citizen to disclose their sources of income.
If an individual is a filer and can provide proof of their income, the proposed law would exempt his family members—wife, mother, father, son under 25, and unmarried/divorced/widow daughter—from filing a return for the financial transaction they carried out. The filer of this family tree must first disclose his sources of income before conducting his family’s financial activities.
FBR Drafts New Tax Laws, the new rule would cover a variety of public transactions, making life easier for the majority of people.
The public will be able to declare resources through a mobile app that the FBR will launch that will be approved by the tax department.
According to sources, the taxpayer would simply need to complete the “sources” section on the mobile app rather than physically visiting the pertinent Commissioner to obtain any certificates of exemption.
The proposed law would create disincentives for taxpayers who are not in compliance, beginning with registration and tying access to resources like bank accounts and investments to the filing of tax reports. There won’t be any financial transactions, and different digital interventions will be required to determine the source of monies.
Based on taxpayers’ declared incomes in their tax forms, the FBR will supply data to all banks and set a ceiling; any financing transactions that go over this amount will be reported to the FBR. In the upcoming months, this system is anticipated to be put into use.
