Almost 70% Pakistani parliamentarians don’t file tax returns

Highlighting deep flaws in a taxation system that has drawn repeated criticism from Western aid donors, a report claimed that almost 70 percent of Pakistani parliamentarians didn’t file income taxes last year.

The Center for Investigative Reporting in Pakistan (CIRP) in collaboration with Umar Cheema, an Investigative reporter of The News, released the report based on leaked tax returns, marking the first time that the records of 446 lawmakers and ministers have been published and focusing scrutiny on individuals ahead of polls next year.

The report states that 67% of parliamentarians and 62% of ministers in the Federal Cabinet did not file their income tax returns.

Another non-government organisation, the Center for Peace and Development Initiatives (CPDI) provided technical assistance and has financed the publication of this 68-page report. This is the first report wherein tax data of lawmakers is being released anywhere in the world.

A kind of a bombshell, the report carries details of all Members of Parliament and the amount of taxes they pay. There are many MNAs and senators who still do not have National Tax Numbers (NTNs).

Former Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani and Maluana Fazlur Rehman are among those who acquired NTNs after February 2008 elections. President Asif Ali Zardari did not file a tax return in 2011 and neither did 34 of the 55 cabinet members including Interior Minister Rehman Malik, it added.

Of the 20 cabinet ministers who did pay, most made only negligible contributions, including Prime Minister Raja Pervez Ashraf, with 142,536 rupees and Foreign Minister Hina Rabbani Khar with 69,619 rupees.

The cabinet member who paid the most was Water and Power Minister Ahmad Mukhtar with 1.09 million rupees. Religious Affairs Minister Syed Khurshid Ahmed Shah paid the least with 43,333 rupees.

Among all the lawmakers in the upper and lower houses of the federal parliament, 67 percent failed to file tax returns in 2011; 28 percent did and five percent were not possible to verify, according to the report.

The highest tax payer Senator is Aitzaz Ahsan from the PPP who paid Rs12, 975,996 in taxes while the lowest is Mushahid Hussain from the PML-Q who paid Rs82. The highest tax paying MNA is Jehangir tareen (PML-F) who paid Rs17, 053,172 in taxes while the lowest is Sheikh Rohale Asghar (PML-N) who paid Rs16, 893.

Short URL: https://www.newspakistan.pk/?p=36098

Posted by Web Desk on Dec 13 2012. Filed under National, Pakistan. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.