ACCORDING to news reports, the Federal Bureau of Revenue (FBR) is f acing problems as people are reluctant to file tax returns.
The return forms are so complex that most people, including the well-educated ones, cannot fill them properly. Nontaxable income and assets are demanded in such details that only an accountant can provide them and justify them with documentary proof s.
Even I as a layman can question most return filers to justify each asset and make their lives miserable, besides giving them mental and physical torture to visit an income-tax of fice a number of times.
This scary perception is making most people reluctant to file returns. I am a regular taxpayer and return filer through an IT consultant. I have never been harassed but always scared. The FBR needs to end this scare.
I think the FBR should be interested more in taxes than in personal details. This can be achieved by simplifying the tax return only for the taxable income. Dubai prospered without complex income tax returns which may serve as a guide to scare-free simple taxation system in Pakistan for prosperity.
