Islamabad:
On Wednesday, the Supreme Court raised sharp questions about the government’s introduction of the super tax, with judges who warned that the burden of such taxes eventually fell on ordinary citizens and deterred taxpayers.
A constitutional bench of five members, led by Justice Aminuddin Khan, resumed the hearing in the case that challenged the super tax. During the consultation, spokesman Asma Hamid appeared on behalf of the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR).
When he was sitting on the bench, Justice Muhammad Ali Mazhar noticed that whether it was a cement bag or a floating natural gas (LNG) shipping, “the whole burden comes down to the ordinary man,” adds: “Business will bloom if we make things easier for humans.”
Justice Jamal Khan Mandokhail repeated the concern and warned, “Dirl not deterrent taxpayers – when you do, people end up leaving the country.”
The bench pressed FBR on why Parliament had created distinctions between taxpayers. Justice Mandokhail said that neither the government’s decisions nor the law itself explained the rationale for such differentiation.
FBR -Attorney Asma Hamid claimed that Sindh High Court (SHC) and Islamabad High Court (IHC) had not sought any data on the case, and clarified that the super tax was only used for 15 sectors of incomes that exceeded RS300 million.
She claimed that no company had claimed an inability to pay. But Justice Mazhar emphasized that the “real question is the reason why there is a distinction between taxpayers” emphasizes that budgetary measures should not end up switching the burden back to the public.
