Govt may collect Rs300bn from agri tax

ISLAMABAD: The government can collect a maximum amount of Rs 300 billion from agriculture income tax with the help of provinces.

Sources told Business Recorder that the agricultural income tax has the potential of nearly Rs300 billion. The Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) has asked the provinces to adopt federal schedule of income tax for collection of agricultural income tax.

The provincial governments shall amend the Agricultural Income Tax (AIT) regimes to fully align them, through necessary legislative changes, with the Federal Personal Income (small farmers) and Corporate Income (Commercial Agriculture) tax regimes and begin taxation of agricultural income under this new regime from January 1, 2025.

Reforms in agri income tax regimes: IMF urges provinces to implement commitment

The provincial governments shall transition the services GST from a positive list to a negative list approach to combat tax evasion to take effect from the start of 2025-26.

Provinces aim to collectively raise revenues from corporate tax in agriculture and GST on services combined with provincial tax effort in expanding additional areas of revenue collection and develop, implement and collect revenue under a common approach to property taxation.

The provincial governments shall also implement the necessary administrative reforms to narrow the tax compliance gap, including for the general sales tax (GST).

National Tax Council terms of reference will be expanded to include the design of the relevant tax measures including property tax and the necessary legal and administrative changes to implement them, sources added.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2024