An open letter to Chairman FBR

Dear Chairman FBR,

You are the head of perhaps the only tax collection organisation in the world, whose principal aims appear to be the following:

To ensure that Pakistanis are discouraged and where possible harassed and tortured when it comes to paying their taxes.
To ensure that a complicated system of tax payment is designed that ensures that NO PAKISTANI can ever use it and has to rely on tax consultants.So before an ordinary citizen can pay say Rs.10,000 tax to the government, he must pay Rs.15,000 to a tax consultant. Therefore he will do neither.
To ensure that the tax payers and the tax revenue of this great country are kept at such abysmally low levels that the country perpetually remains a beggar and under debt of donor agencies.

Sadly, you have performed outstandingly well on the above three counts, thus becoming the biggest hurdle in the progress and well being of Pakistan.

Did you ever ask an any one on the street, if he ever paid tax or tried to use your convoluted website for tax payment system. In the hundreds of interviews we carried out with well educated individuals, not a single person could use your website for tax payment.

All that was needed was a one page simple form in URDU and English where every citizen, who is even eighth class pass, can give basic facts of his income and himself decide the tax to be paid according to the block in which the income falls. The tax payment should NOT require any PSID, “chalaans” or queuing in banks. Announce a bank account number (on TV and newspapers) and any citizen using his phone and mobile money transfer systems should be able send the tax amount against his/her CNIC to that bank account.

May I humbly request that please make tax payment easy and do-able by every citizen of Pakistan so that millions more, who want to contribute to the growth of this great country can do so.

Sincerely,

Naeem Sadiq

*** Three types of proposed simplified one page tax return forms are placed below.

Filing Tax Return is the responsibility of Every Citizen.

Type: NORMAL- Tax filed for period 1st July ………………… To 30 June ………………….

Name:…………………………………………………………………………………………………………..

CNIC:

X

Address:

…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….

Phone:………………………………………………………….

A	Total income from all sources (profit from investment / banks, rent, pension, foreign, agriculture, any other)	Rs.
B	Income exempt from tax (pension, donation etc)	Rs.
C	Total taxable income C = A-B	Rs.
D	Tax on total taxable income (use Tax chart placed below)	Rs.
E	Tax already paid (Withholding tax, phone, tax on Saving certificates, vehicle, service provided , any other)	Rs.
T	Tax to be paid T= D-E	Rs.

Note: Please keep expense and withholding tax documents with you but not attach with this return.

Tax Table:

Taxable income	Rate of tax
0 to 400,000	0
400,000 to 600,000	5% of amount above 400,000
600,000 to 1,200,000	10,000 + 5% of amount above 600,000
1,200,000 to 2,400,000	70,000 + 15% of amount above 1,200,000
2,400,000 to 3,000,000	250,000 + 20% of amount above 2,400,000
3000,000 to 4,000,000	370,000 + 25% of amount above 3,000,000
4,000,000 to 6,000,000	620,000 + 30% of amount above 4,000,000
Above 6,000,000	1,220,000 + 35% of amount above 6,000,000

**Quote your CNIC and pay your tax using your cell phone (Easy paisa, Jazz or U Paisa) or using on line banking. In each case you will receive a Receipt / Transaction number.

Rs. ……………….. paid as Tax paid vide Receipt no / Transaction No:………………………….

Signature of tax payer:…………………………………………… Date: …………………………

Please post this completed page to FBR, using a pre-paid FBR envelope, OR , send a scan copy on Whats App no. 12345678 OR, attach as a file and e mail to taxreturn@fbr.gov.pk and be a proud Pakistani tax payer.

Notes for FBR : (this page is not a part of tax return but essential suggestions for FBR to keep the focus on simplicity and remove EVERY extra step.)

The tax return is just a one pager (and no more). It is printed in Urdu on one side and English on the other side of a SINGLE page.
Meant for ordinary citizens, please do not use difficult Urdu words. As an example, use “tax deney wala”, instead of “tax dahindgaan” .
Make sure all phone money transfer systems such as Easy Paisa , Jazz, Upaisa etc have a prominent display for tax payment to FBR, which should require an individual to only quote his/her CNIC, write amount and SEND. Currently some of these services have the FBR icon hidden under 4 layers – making it impossible for a citizen to discover and perform a vital task for his country. There should be no need for PSID as the individual pays against CNIC and to a FBR dedicated number meant for income tax payment only.
Pre-paid, envelopes with an FBR address already printed should be prominently made available free of cost, in each market, shopping areas, plaza, bank, Mall, etc
The form should be repeatedly advertised and explained on TV and press.
Incentive schemes for small tax payers be introduced.
Soft punitive schemes for non tax payers be introduced such as no air travel, no purchase of car / house or goods more than Rs.50,000 if you do not pay your taxes.
The biggest advantage of payment through mobile phone money transfer is not just massive convenience but to bring the economy under banking channels.
Pl do not write or quote any sections of FBR Act such as U/S 114(1) or U/S 113 etc, on the tax return, as they are of no relevance to an ordinary citizen.
If it is impossible to make the phone companies give a prominent “Pay your Income Tax” icon on the first page of their Apps, FBR would do well to make its own App, which simply asks 2 questions – CNIC and Tax to be paid . Clicking “PAY NOW “ should straight transfer this amount to FBR income tax collection account against this particular CNIC.

—————————————————–

Filing Tax Return is the responsibility of Every Citizen.

Type: SALARIED – Tax filed for period 1st July ………………… To 30 June ………………….

Name:…………………………………………………………………………………………………………..

CNIC:

X

Address:

…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….

…………………………………………………………………………Phone:.…………………………….

A	Income from Salary	Rs.
B	Income from all other sources, i.e, profit from investment / banks, investments, saving certificates, foreign, agriculture, rent, any other.	Rs.
C	Total income C= A+B	Rs.
D	Income exempt from tax (pension, donation etc)	Rs.
E	Total taxable income E = C-D	Rs.
F	Tax on total taxable income (use Tax chart placed below)	Rs.
G	Tax already paid (deducted from salary, by bank, withheld on phone, saving certificates, vehicle, service provided, any other )	Rs.
T	Tax to be paid T= F-G	Rs.

Note: Please keep expense and withholding tax documents with you but not attach with this return.

Tax Table:

Taxable income	Rate of tax
0 to 400,000	0
400,000 to 600,000	5% of amount above 400,000
600,000 to 1,200,000	10,000 + 5% of amount above 600,000
1,200,000 to 2,400,000	70,000 + 15% of amount above 1,200,000
2,400,000 to 3,000,000	250,000 + 20% of amount above 2,400,000
3000,000 to 4,000,000	370,000 + 25% of amount above 3,000,000
4,000,000 to 6,000,000	620,000 + 30% of amount above 4,000,000
Above 6,000,000	1,220,000 + 35% of amount above 6,000,000

**Quote your CNIC and pay your tax using your cell phone (Easy paisa, Jazz or U Paisa) or using on line banking. In each case you will receive a Receipt / Transaction number.

Rs. ……………….. paid as Tax paid vide Receipt no / Transaction No:………………………….

Signature of tax payer:…………………………………………… Date: …………………………

Please post this completed page to FBR, using a pre-paid FBR envelope, OR , send a scan copy on Whats App no. 12345678 OR, attach as a file and e mail to taxreturn@fbr.gov.pk and be a proud Pakistani tax payer.

Filing Tax Return is the responsibility of Every Citizen.

Type: RETAILER – Tax filed for period 1st July ………………… To 30 June ………………….

Name:…………………………………………………………………………………………………………..

CNIC:

X

Address:

…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….

…………………………………………………………………………Phone:.…………………………….

A	Income from Business / Shop	Rs.
B	Income from all other sources, i.e, Pension, profit from banks / investments / saving certificates, foreign, agriculture, rent, any other.	Rs.
C	Total income C= A+B	Rs.
D	Income exempt from tax (pension, donation etc)	Rs.
E	Total business expenses	Rs.
F	Total taxable income F = C-D-E	Rs.
G	Tax on total taxable income (use Tax chart placed below)	Rs.
H	Tax already paid (Holding tax, phone, vehicle, any other)	Rs.
T	Tax to be paid T= G-H	Rs.

Note: Please keep expense and withholding tax documents with you but not attach with this return.

Tax Table:

Taxable income	Rate of tax
0 to 400,000	0
400,000 to 600,000	5% of amount above 400,000
600,000 to 1,200,000	10,000 + 5% of amount above 600,000
1,200,000 to 2,400,000	70,000 + 15% of amount above 1,200,000
2,400,000 to 3,000,000	250,000 + 20% of amount above 2,400,000
3000,000 to 4,000,000	370,000 + 25% of amount above 3,000,000
4,000,000 to 6,000,000	620,000 + 30% of amount above 4,000,000
Above 6,000,000	1,220,000 + 35% of amount above 6,000,000

**Quote your CNIC and pay your tax using your cell phone (Easy paisa, Jazz or U Paisa) or using on line banking. In each case you will receive a Receipt / Transaction number.

Rs. ……………….. paid as Tax paid vide Receipt no / Transaction No:………………………….

Signature of tax payer:…………………………………………… Date: …………………………

Please post this completed page to FBR, using a pre-paid FBR envelope, OR , send a scan copy on Whats App no. 12345678 OR, attach as a file and e mail to taxreturn@fbr.gov.pk and be a proud Pakistani tax payer.

An open letter to Chairman FBR

A country that refuses to collect its own taxes

Proof of aliveness