Dar launches Tax Directory of Parliamentarians

ISLAMABAD: Minister for Finance, Revenue, Economic Affairs, Statistics and Privatisation, Senator Mohammad Ishaq Dar launched the Tax Directory of Parliamentarians for tax year 2016, at the FBR Headquarters on Thursday. 

The directory contains tax details of members of the Senate of Pakistan and Members of the National and Provincial Assemblies. Haroon Akhtar Khan, Special Assistant to Prime Minister on Revenue, and Tariq Mahmood Pasha, Chairman FBR, were also present on the occasion.

On the occasion, the Finance Minister said that the publication of the Parliamentarians' Tax Directory for a fourth consecutive year, after previous publications for tax years 2003, 2004 and 2005, is a great achievement of the present government, and proof of the government's commitment to transparency. 

He said that Pakistan is one of the very few countries in the world that publish Tax Directory of Parliamentarians. He said that out of total 1,170 Parliamentarians, 1,010 Parliamentarians have filed their Income Tax Returns for the tax year 2016, compared to 996 Parliamentarians who had filed their returns at the time of publication of tax directory for tax year 2015. 

The Minister also said that a one-month period for filing returns is being provided to those Parliamentarians who have still not filed their Income Tax Returns. He said that their names will also be included in the directory, if their returns are filed within one month. The Finance Minister appreciated the efforts of FBR for the compilation and publication of the directory.

The Finance Minister said that, in addition to the Parliamentarians' tax directory, Pakistan's accession to the OECD Multilateral Convention on Mutual Administrative Assistance in Tax Matters in September 2016, and signing of the Revised Agreement with Switzerland on Avoidance of Double Taxation in March 2017, are further proofs of the government's commitment to good governance and transparency. -NNI