Skip to main content

Govt launches scheme to bring small shop owners into tax net

In what Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb on Friday called an “important milestone”, the government announced a fixed tax rate scheme for small shop owners in an effort to build a more “equitable, balanced and sustainable” tax system.

The voluntary ‘Asaan Scheme’ aimed at small shops with annual earnings of Rs200 million, seeks to broaden the tax net by imposing a 1 per cent fixed tax on net income of the business. Shop owners will have to sign up for the scheme via a form available in multiple local languages.

The announcement was made during a press conference by the finance minister along with State Minister for Finance Bilal Azhar Kiani.

According to Kiani, shop owners who opt in for the scheme will receive Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) plaques displaying a unique QR code on them to be placed outside their shops and a point of sale system inside their shops.

Tax inspectors making the rounds of the market will be able to acquire tax details for these shops using their QR codes. Any irregularities will be up for audit in consultation with local traders’ associations.

Both non-filers and filers can enter the scheme. Filers will be able to opt for the scheme under the condition that, in the past three years, the business’ turnover must not exceed Rs200m, Kiani said.

He added that kiosks are exempt from the scheme.

The finance minister said the scheme was being presented for three to four million shop owners in line with their demands and after holding consultations with local shop associations.



from Dawn - Home https://ift.tt/RMVo5D2

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Ministers rubbish notion that proposed retirement age extension to favour ‘one particular institution’

Information Minister Attaullah Tarar on Tuesday rubbished the notion that a proposed extension in the retirement age was to favour “one particular institution”, adding that the move would be implemented across the board if approved. The rebuttal comes in the wake of media reports claiming that the government was mulling changes to the Constitution to fix the tenure of the chief justice . Currently, judges of the Supreme Court, including the chief justice, retire after attaining the age of superannuation, i.e. 65 years, as stipulated in Article 179 of the Constitution. While giving his opinion recently on the reports of the constitutional amendment, Law Minister Azam Nazeer Tarar had said he “will not vehemently turn down the proposals related to the tenure of the chief justice”. Addressing the issue during a press conference in Islamabad today along since Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb and the law minister, Attaullah said the extension in the retirement age was “a proposal to a...

Explainer: Iran’s economy faces rocky road amid rising prices, falling currency

Iran’s economy is going through one of its most difficult periods in years, fueled by sanctions, high inflation, and a significant drop in the value of the national currency, the rial. These pressures have had a direct impact on living standards and have also fueled recent protests. The protests began on Dec. 28 in commercial hubs in the capital Tehran, when shopkeepers, merchants, and small business owners staged strikes and demonstrations to protest soaring inflation, the collapsing rial, and deteriorating economic conditions, and have since grown into nationwide anti-government expressions of discontent involving workers, students, and others across multiple cities. The Iranian president said Sunday that his government is determined to address Iran’s economic problems amid the protests. Masoud Pezeshkian said the government admits to “shortcomings and problems” and is working hard to alleviate the people’s concerns, especially on the economy. Currency collapse at the centre of c...

Mitchell Starc surpasses Wasim Akram as most prolific left-arm pacer in Test history

Australian veteran Mitchell Starc became the most prolific left-arm paceman in Test history on Thursday, surpassing Pakistan great Wasim Akram. The 35-year-old bagged England’s Harry Brook at the Gabba in Brisbane on day one of the day-night second Ashes Test for his 415th wicket since his debut at the same ground 14 years ago. It moved him past Wasim, widely recognised as the greatest left-arm bowler the sport has seen. Wasim played 104 Tests for his 414 wickets with Starc reaching the milestone in his 102nd, helped by a career-best 7-58 in the first innings of the opening Ashes Test at Perth. Starc is now 16th on the all-time wicket-taker list and could move above both India’s Harbhajan Singh (417) and South Africa’s Shaun Pollock (421) in the current pink-ball Test. After that he will have New Zealand’s Richard Hadlee (431) in his sights. from Dawn - Home https://ift.tt/xclHiX2