No tax compliance
THE FBR chairman’s statement before a parliamentary panel that at least 15m potential taxpayers remain outside the tax roll only reinforces the negative opinion about the performance of his department and the inefficacy of the tax system. Stating the obvious, he said the tax deficit could be “significantly reduced” if all high-earning individuals “fulfilled their [tax] obligations”. With the number of tax filers standing at below 2pc of the population, and mostly comprising captive taxpayers such as salaried individuals, it is clear that one cannot rely on a sense of duty to pay. Some people will pay what they owe, while others will not. In fact, the number of ‘voluntary’ taxpayers shrinks over time as the latter category realises it is being taken advantage of.
Tax avoidance and evasion are common in other parts of the world too. But an efficient tax agency can always force people to comply with the tax laws and pay what they owe to the state. Unfortunately, FBR doesn’t enjoy the reputation of an effective tax enforcer and its boss didn’t say what is being done to improve its performance and tax administration. Probably there isn’t much to say. His testimony before the panel also brought out the anomalies in Pakistan’s tax regime, which is based on the principle of squeezing taxpayers directly and indirectly, and allowing the delinquents to escape. For instance, the distinction between tax filers and non-filers, introduced by former finance minister Ishaq Dar, allows the latter category to get away with paying a mere a fraction of what they owe to the state in taxes and has created a major incentive for people to stay out of the net. The enormous tax deficit cannot be bridged by appealing to citizens’ good sense or creating incentives for them to stay out of the system. Instead, a deep overhaul of the tax system is required. Incomes must be taxed fairly, regardless of their source.
Published in Dawn, October 27th, 2023
Election uncertainty
DESPITE the Election Commission of Pakistan’s assurance that polls will be held at the end of January — which was repeated yesterday — why is the head of state not sure that the ECP will deliver? The question has been hanging heavy on the minds of those with a keen eye on the political goings-on in Pakistan ever since President Arif Alvi, during an interview, responded to a question asking whether he was confident elections will be held by end January with the suggestion that he wasn’t. He remarked, “The supreme judiciary has taken notice of the matter, [and] I expect a very reasonable decision from it”, which suggests that the matter is far from settled in his mind. The next day, the ECP issued a press statement dismissing the possibility of any further delay in the general election. It stressed that there should be no doubt that it will announce a firm schedule for elections as soon as the final delimitations are announced. “The Election Commission is fully prepared to hold elections under its action plan,” it assured.
The stakes are enormous for everyone involved, and it is not without reason that political parties are growing jittery. PML-N supremo Nawaz Sharif, who seems to be enjoying the state’s favour, recently threw his weight behind the ECP. He described it as “the authorised institution to announce the election date” while talking to the media before his flight to Pakistan. It is unclear what the context was, but the timing of the remark seemed odd, considering that the ECP had by then already given its revised timeline for the election. With the paranoia refusing to dissipate, doubts regarding the election are expected to linger. The situation has been complicated by the fact that the state appears to be leaning too heavily to one side. The PPP believes that the caretaker set-ups have been partial to the PML-N. This “lopsidedness of caretaker governments is becoming evident with each passing day,” it recently said. The PTI agrees. An election conducted in such conditions would be very difficult to legitimise. Perhaps this is why some feel it may be put off. Considering that the ECP seems committed to its timeline, it must consider intervening to provide a more level playing field to the contesting parties. Giving all candidates an equal opportunity may help erase their misgivings.
Published in Dawn, October 27th, 2023
Finding the ‘missing’
OVER the last two decades — and counting — Pakistan has seen many of its citizens go ‘missing’, a euphemism for enforced disappearances believed to have been carried out by the state.
Individuals have been targeted across the country, hauled away with no recourse to due process. In many cases, there is no news of their whereabouts for months, even years.
Even though the highest court of the land has criticised this despicable practice, elements within the state have refused to abandon it. Those suspected of having separatist sympathies in Balochistan and Sindh, or seen as religiously inspired militants as well as political cadres and activists, have all been ‘disappeared’.
The latest to be added to this list are leaders and supporters of the PTI, who have faced the state’s wrath in the aftermath of the May 9 violence.
Many of these individuals, after being off the radar for weeks or months, have resurfaced to address press conferences or make TV appearances to denounce their erstwhile party in what can only be described as a tragicomic spectacle.
In this regard, lawyer Aitzaz Ahsan has filed a petition in the Supreme Court asking the latter to direct provincial governments to provide lists of missing persons, and identify those behind their disappearance.
It is hoped this effort succeeds where several past endeavours have failed, including the SC-mandated Commission of Inquiry on Enforced Disappearances.
It is crucial for the state to investigate such cases, especially as ‘short-term disappearances’ have picked up pace over the recent past. But it is also essential that aggrieved parties, for example the PTI, provide lists of missing supporters so that these can be tallied with official numbers and be probed.
Moreover, the missing persons of Balochistan, KP and other peripheral areas should not be forgotten. The interim prime minister recently told a foreign media outlet that there were only 50 missing people in Balochistan according to UN figures.
This is a classic example of denialism that nearly all ruling set-ups have indulged in, for, according to the missing persons’ commission’s own figures, the number of the missing from Balochistan is over 450. It is these attitudes that must change for enforced disappearances to end.
As the petition has highlighted, some key questions need to be answered by the state: where have the missing been held? Under which law were they detained? Why were they not produced before the courts?
It is hoped that the SC can instruct the authorities to provide satisfactory answers to these queries. Moreover, there is also merit in the petition’s observation that the current commission on missing persons “does not adequately comply with legal and international standards”.
An empowered commission is required that can locate the missing, and identify those involved in their illegal detention.
Published in Dawn, October 27th, 2023