ISLAMABAD: There is a significant difference in the number of compliant income taxpayers and sales taxpayers appearing on their respective Active Taxpayers List (ATL).
Asif S Kasbati, senior tax advisor told Business Recorder that the Federal Sales Tax Active Taxpayers’ List (FST ATL) stood at 207,000 while Income Tax ATL (IT ATL) stood at 5.4 million. The FST ATL is increasing at a slow pace while IT ATL is increasing on a fast track.
When the matter was discussed with Kasbati, he elaborated numerically and growth historically that on 30 June 2022, IT ATL was at 3.1 million while FST ATL was at 189,000; on 30 June 2023, IT ATL grown 4.1 million while FST ATL minutely grown to 197,000 i.e. in one year, 29.3 per cent increase in IT ATL while only 4.5 per cent increase in FST ATL.
Kasbati, ICAP Fiscal Law Committee Member explained that on January 1, 2024, IT ATL was at 5.4 million while FST ATL was at 207,000 i.e. in 18 months, 74.7 per cent increase in IT ATL while only 9.57 per cent increase in FST ATL. Industrial and commercial connections are over one million and FST ATL at 207,000; which means only 20.7 per cent of commercial and industrial connections are on ST ATL.
Regarding IT ATL at 5.4 million, Kasbati, PBC Core Tax Committee Member, recalled that a former finance minister Shaukat Tarin in June 2021 said that there were 15 million non-filers data with FBR who are potential income taxpayers. In December 2020 there were 7.4 million potential non-filers who were also tax evaders.
Kasbati indicated that there are about 7.6 million income tax NTN holders while there are 397,000 sales tax registered persons. The gap between these and ATL numbers is partly due to dormant entities, non-filers, non-compliant, suspended or blacklisted.
Kasbati predicted that if after proper notices, non-compliant potential industrial and commercial electricity, gas disconnections and SIM blockage are done on a fast track basis of non-IT ATL without discrimination of all government officials and MNA/MPA candidates, municipal level chairman, vice chairman and councilors, traders and salaried person over applicable limits, then there is likely to be 10 million on IT ATL by 30 June 2024, while about 500,000 ST ATL.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2024
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