Super Tax expansion on the cards

The government is mulling expanding the Super Tax net to bring high-net-worth individuals into the tax bracket.

The first formal meeting to review the tax measures prepared by the FBR was chaired by Secretary Finance Tariq Bajwa on Saturday. Sources have revealed that during the meeting, Bajwa proposed to expand the net of Super Tax to individuals earning more than Rs10m annually. The Super Tax was initially introduced in 2015 for a period of one year when the Pakistan Army was engaged in the Operation Zarb-e-Azb to wipe out terrorists from tribal areas.

So far, the government is collecting Rs 500m annually through the levy of 4 pc Super Tax on banks and 3pc from other companies earning more than Rs500m annually. The Super Tax was expected to end by June this year. However, the FBR has proposed to expand it to the third year.