A famous digital creator, Junaid Akram with reference to someone’s post on a Facebook group discussed counterarguments against the blame that generally people of Pakistan don’t pay taxes. He shared an exhaustive list of taxes which Pakistanis pay.
The post was, “Ya Allah! give me strength to pay my:
(1). Income Tax
(2). General Sales Tax
(3). Capital Value Tax
(4). Value Added Tax
(5). Central Sales Tax
(6). Service Tax
(7). Fuel Adjustment Charges
(8). Petrol Levy
(9). Excise Duty
(10). Customs Duty
(11). Octroi Tax (tax levied on entry of goods into municipal area)
(12). TDS Tax (tax deduction at source)
(13). Employment Status Indicator Tax (ESI Tax)
(14). Property Tax
(15). Government Stamp Duty
(16). Aabiana (tax on water for agricultural land)
(17). Ushr
(18). Zakat (deducted on money from the banks)
(19). Dhal Tax
(20). Local tax
(21). PTV License
(22). Parking Fee (at least 5 times a day)
(23). Capital Gains Tax (CGT)
(24). Water Tax
(25). Flood Tax (for heavens sake – there are no floods now)
(26). Professional Tax
(27). Road Tax
(28). Toll Gate Fee
(29). Securities Transaction Tax (STT)
(30). Education Tax
(31). Wealth Tax
(32). Transient Occupancy Tax (TOT)
(33). Congestion Levy Complusory Deduction
(34). Super Tax (3 to 4%)
(35) Withholding taxes
(36) Education fee (5%)
(37) SECP levy
and also toufeeq to pay
(a). Heavy Education Fees
(b). Donations at schools
(c). Chandas at Mosques etc
(d). Beggers Black Mailing at every Road Corner
(e). Personal generators and fuels when we are out of electricity (that makes 2 – home & office)
(f). Personal Security in shape of gate keepwrs & security guard (that again makes 2 – home & office) / and plus if any incident happens. Then pay fee to the police station condition to whom I know
(g). Buy gas cylinders and Gascoigne that again makes 2 – home & office
O’ my Lord – If I have some money left then I will try to boost my business to pay more to FBR employees, government officials etc… “
He stated that blaming the people of Pakistan for not paying taxes is wrong as there is an elite of some thousands of industrialists and landlords who avoid tax. In fact, they receive heavy subsidies for growing sugarcane and then export them to create artificial shortage in the home country. Such shortage results in increase in prices which is “a game being played every year”, he said.
Read more: What’s harming Pakistan’s tax revenue collection?
However, the list goes on including bribery which is essential for almost every work to be done. He added, “whatever you want to do, government is pro at creating hurdles but super slow at getting the work done.”
He concluded by saying that poor is being pissed off by paying all these taxes because upper class who should actually be paying taxes is not ready to pay or compromise on their income. Overall, there is a dire need to expand the tax net and implement mechanisms to deal with tax evaders rather than increasing taxes on general public who is already bearing it.