PBC Wants Tax-Free Corporate Dividends in Budget 2023-24

The Pakistan Business Council (PBC) has requested that inter-corporate dividend payments be treated as a non-taxable event under budget 2023-24. According to a press release issued by the organization, it wants group-loss relief reinstated for fostering consolidation, scale, and competitiveness; creating parity in taxation of gains on disposal of shares in non-listed and private companies with gains on the sale of real estate; compensating for any tax due with assessed refunds, extending the period available for the offsetting of minimum tax against future profits for a period of five years; reducing the incidence of withholding taxes, and lowering the incidence of withholding taxes. The PBC further implored that there was potential for Rs. 747 billion in tax revenue from wholesale, retail, and real estate, stemming from revenue losses of Rs. 488 billion from under-invoicing of imports from just four countries, raising Rs. 400 billion in property taxes, and Rs. 375 billion in agriculture taxes.