Following the recommendation of the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR), telecom businesses have inactivated more than 9,100 SIM cards assigned to people who have not submitted their tax returns.
FBR spokesperson Bakhtiar Ahmed Khan revealed that the authorities have provided telecom firms with data on 30,000 individuals who have not filed their taxes. Additionally, they will supply 5,000 more profiles every day for further action.
The FBR has discovered over 550,000 people who have not submitted their tax returns, and to promote tax compliance, the FBR has enforced a 90% withholding tax on mobile top-ups for non-filers until they adhere to their tax responsibilities.
Initially, the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) and cellular companies resisted the deactivation of SIM cards despite multiple requests.
These measures are part of efforts to enforce tax compliance and ensure fair taxation practices in Pakistan, aimed at enhancing revenue collection and accountability in the telecom sector. This step is taken to ensure everyone in Pakistan should file their businesses and pay tax to the government.
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