Govt Refuses to Share Taxpayers’ Data With Provinces

The federal government has declined to share taxpayers’ income tax returns with provincial authorities. This is due to confidentiality laws under Section 216 of the Income Tax Ordinance (ITO) which prohibit the sharing of such data, reported Express Tribune. At a recent meeting of the National Tax Council (NTC) chaired by Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb, the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) emphasized its readiness to share specific data relevant to provinces, such as agricultural and property income. The issue of taxing livestock income was a big point of discussion. Punjab refused to remove livestock income from its new agriculture tax law, which was passed in compliance with the International Monetary Fund (IMF). The matter has been referred to the NTC executive committee. The International Monetary Fund earlier stipulated that by October 2024, provincial agriculture tax rates must align with federal personal and corporate income tax rates. Punjab has passed the required legislation but omitted rate details, while other provinces have yet to comply. The meeting also addressed property tax issues. Punjab is considering transitioning from rental to capital value for urban property taxation. The executive committee was tasked with standardizing valuation methodologies and digitizing property records to streamline assessments. Proposed amendments to Section 216 of the ITO were also discussed as part of the federal government’s broader tax reforms under the Tax Laws Amendment Bill. These amendments could help improve revenue collection if implemented correctly.