Pak lawmakers cough up more taxes after new tax policy

Pakistan's rich parliamentarians paid nearly double the amount in taxes in 2014 as compared to last year, showing that the country's tax collecting body's policy of naming and shaming defaulters had been a success.
"As a group, national lawmakers paid 88.3 per cent more in taxes in fiscal year 2014 compared to the previous year, with cabinet ministers paying 90.6 per cent more compared to last year," the Express Tribune reported.
Overall, parliament's contribution to government revenue remains a paltry Rs 239 million, an average of Rs 5,94,763 for each of the 401 members of the National Assembly and Senate.

However, this number is a substantial increase over the Rs 127 million paid by parliamentarians last year.
Yet, despite the naming and shaming of parliamentarians, some legislators were still brazen enough not to file their tax returns, including Commerce Minister Khurram Dastgir and National Food Security Minister Sikandar Bosan.
Several parliamentarians and cabinet ministers saw a dramatic increase in the amount of taxes they paid, which either reflects an abnormally large increase in their incomes, or an increasing willingness to pay the taxes.

Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif paid Rs 2.6 million in income tax, Rs 35,664 less than the previous year. His brother, Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif paid Rs 5.2 million in income tax compared to Rs 3.6 million last year.

Finance Minister Ishaq Dar paid Rs 2.3 million in income tax, compared to Rs 824,891 in the previous year. Petroleum Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi paid Rs 2.2 million in 2014, nearly twice as much as the Rs 1.2 million he paid in 2013.
National Assembly Speaker Ayaz Sadiq paid Rs 327,895 in 2014, more than twice as much as the Rs 148,868 he paid in the previous year.