Traders, retailers and wholesale business owners are defying the state and writ of law by refusing to file their income tax returns and register with the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR). Over the years, the failure of the elected and military governments to collect taxes has nurtured a culture where certain sections of the business community and feudal landlords consider it their right not to pay any tax, yet continue to demand services from the state and compensation when natural or manmade disasters inflict damage to their properties. A meagre tax collected from traders in Karachi, Lahore, Islamabad, Peshawar, Faisalabad, etc, is not enough to cater for vast infrastructure that has been built in their vicinities. It is ironic that these traders are willing to pay billions of rupees to extortionists, but are defiant to pay obligatory taxes due from them and even pilfer sales tax collected from citizens. Some of these leading retailers are billionaires, living in palatial houses, driving expensive vehicles and owning farm houses spread over acres, but the annual direct income tax paid by them is less than a salaried professional living in a small house or apartment who cannot afford even buying a brand new Suzuki car.It is this callous and criminal negligence of the ruling elite, who fail to perform their constitutional duties of enforcing laws and collecting taxes, which over the years has given birth to an environment where criminals, target killers, smugglers, kidnappers and land grabbers have emerged as a powerful group defying the state and holding it to ransom such as this call for protests if they are made to either register or pay a nominal indirect tax on bank transactions of those amongst them who are not registered with the FBR. Over the years, successive governments by succumbing to these defiant non-tax payers have created a situation where the tax-to-GDP ratio has reduced to such a dismal low level that state sovereignty is being compromised by having to submit to the dictates of the donor agencies. This financial terrorism is as grave as criminal terrorism and the state must not succumb to their blackmailing.
Ali Malik
pk.shafaqna.com
