STAFF REPORT KARACHI: The Sindh government hopes that agriculture income tax target of Rs 300 million set for the outgoing financial year will be achieved and has set a target of Rs 500 million next financial year.
However, industrialists and economists have demanded increase in Pakistan’s revenue base by imposing agriculture income tax, while people in agriculture are opposing such proposals.
It is worth mentioning here that the agriculture sector, contributor of 25 percent, or more than Rs2 trillion, to the gross domestic product, does not pay any direct income tax.
“There is no study to suggest the total potential of agriculture income tax in Sindh. There are only a few landlords who come under the agriculture income tax net,” economist Kaiser Bengali told the media here after the budget.
He said that there should be no exemption for any sector, he maintained. The sector does, however, pay tax according to the size of land holdings.
In 1997, tax from agriculture was collected on the basis of land holding, but in 2001 it was redefined by adding the words “agriculture income” with a stipulation to pay tax on income or on land holding whichever was higher.
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