Chief of Army Staff (COAS), General Qamar Javed Bajwa, has taken a decision that could help boost the country’s filer base. For promotions in the army, officers and soldiers will now be required to file their income tax returns.

The initiative comes as a bid to promote the campaign for broadening of the tax base, stated a senior official of the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR).

“The military is very much concerned about the tax base of the country and General Bajwa has already filed his income tax return last month,” said FBR Member Facilitation and Taxpayers Education (FATE) Hamid Ateeq Sarwar.

Sarwar made this revelation while speaking to the media following the government’s announcement to exempt the salaried class from paying penalties on late filing of the returns.

“Being a non-filer could now affect promotions in the army,” said the FBR official in a response to a question regarding the tax contributions by the Pakistan Army.

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He further added that the Pakistan Army contributes Rs. 398 million in income tax every month, which makes it one of the largest contributors to the tax net.

Moreover, he told the media the in the tenure of the present Army Chief, tax returns have surged significantly.

It needs to be mentioned here that only two days are left till the closing date of filing income tax returns. Till date, only 900,000 individuals and companies have filed their returns. The number is less than last year, which accounted for around 1.4 million taxpayers.

Via: Tribune