Tax directory of Parliamentarians launched

ISLAMABAD: For the third consecutive year in a row, the government on Friday published the Tax Directory 2015 for all taxpayers as well as parliamentarians by disclosing that Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif paid Rs2.19 million tax, PTI chief Imran Khan Rs76,244 and Opposition Leader in the National Assembly, Syed Khursheed Shah Rs113,740.

“We are going to fulfil our promise and are publishing the tax directory for the consecutive third year as the number of taxpayers have gone up from 721,000 in 2013, 856,000 in 2014 and 1,074,000 in 2015, so the taxpayers increased by 350,000 in the last three years,” Federal Minister for Finance Ishaq Dar said while launching the Tax Directory 2015 here at the FBR on Friday evening.

Dar said that 120 parliamentarians did not file their returns, so he would appeal to them to come forward and discharge their national obligation.

“When these parliamentarians will file their returns, we will update the Tax Directory,” he added. The minister said that the tax-to-GDP ratio of the country increased from 9.7 percent to around 12.5 percent in the last three years and the government aimed at stretching it up to 15 percent till the end of the government’s tenure.

He appreciated the FBR for achieving 60 percent growth in tax revenues in the last three years but reminded that there was no need for complacency. Pakistan, he said, became the fourth country in the world where tax directory of parliamentarians was published.

He said the government had fulfilled its promise that it would publish the tax directory every year.Senate Chairman Mian Raza Rabbani has paid Rs730,107 tax in the tax year 2015, while the National Assembly Speaker Sardar Ayaz Sadiq paid tax of Rs1,373,015. Interestingly, the tax paid by PTI chief Imran Khan decreased as he had paid Rs76,244 in the tax year 2015 against the payment of Rs218,237 in 2014.

The tax payment of PM Nawaz Sharif also decreased slightly as he had paid Rs2.611 million in 2014, but in 2015, his payment stood at Rs2.19 million.

The Tax Directory disclosed that the federal ministers paid tax in different ranges as Federal Minister for Finance Ishaq Dar paid Rs3.91 million; Minister for Information & Broadcasting Pervaiz Rasheed, Rs106,105; Minister for Housing Akram Khan Durrani (belonging to JUI-F) Rs86,196; Minister for CADD Dr Tariq Fazal Chaudhry Rs34,662; Federal Minister for Petroleum & Natural Resources Shahid Khaqan Abbassi Rs2.13 million, Federal Minister for Interior Ch Nisar Ali Khan Rs 847,662; Minister of State for Water & Power Abid Sher Ali Rs128,440; Minister of State for Health Saira Afzal Tarar Rs92,382; Federal Minister for Water and Power Khwaja Asif Rs466,630; Federal Minister for Law Zahid Hamid Rs70,216; Federal Minister for Planning Ahsan Iqbal Rs106,897; Federal Minister for Railways Khwaja Saad Rafique Rs2.9 million; Minister of State Rana Tanvir Hussain Rs267,786; Federal Minister Lt Gen (retd) Abdul Qadir Baloch Rs279,535 and Anusha Rahman Minister for IT Rs78,534.

Hamza Shahbaz Sharif has paid  Rs6,330,632 tax; National Assembly Speaker Ayaz Sadiq Rs1,373,015; Ch Atizaz Ahsan Rs24,931,890; Senator Talha Mehmood Rs14,028,818; Senator Shahi Syed Rs313,714; Ameer Jamaat-e-Islami Sirajul Haq Rs51,343; Prof Sajid Mir Rs191,051; Zaheerud-Din Babar Awan Rs2,958,970; Rahman Malik Rs47,362 and Senator Saleem Mandviwalla Rs1,115,513.

The parliamentarians from the National Assembly are also among the list of taxpayers as Shah Mehmood Qureshi from the PTI paid tax of Rs1,469,068; Jehangir Khan Tareen Rs37,607,528; Aftab Ahmed Khan Sherpao Rs1,723,273; Capt (retd) Mohammad Safdar Rs49,902; JUI-F leader Maulana Fazlur Rehman Rs49,902; Sheikh Rasheed Ahmed Rs312,383; Mian Abdul Manan Rs907,955; Danyal Aziz Rs421,928; Mohammad Pervez Malik Rs394,852; Shaikh Rohale Asghar Rs44,063; Shafqat Mehmood Rs88,055; Ghulam Rabbani Khar Rs51,062; Jamshed Dasti Rs34,664; Mohammad Ijazul Haq Rs444,977; Faryal Talpur Rs2,267,735; Syed Naveed Qamar Rs49,902 and former NA Speaker Dr Fehmida Mirza Rs69,606.

The four chief ministers also filed their returns. Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif paid Rs7,609,060 as tax; Sindh CM Syed Murad Ali Shah Rs661,661; KP CM Pervez Khattak Rs766,480 and Balochistan CM Sardar Sanaullah Zehri Rs1,283,774.

Punjab Assembly Member Monnis Elahi paid Rs2,603,272 tax.