By Ali Imran
Islamabad: The Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) released its 2018 tax directory for parliamentarians on Friday.
The directory details the amount of taxes paid by provincial and federal lawmakers in the year 2018, personally as well as by the associations of persons (AOPs) they are members of.
Several parliamentarians have shared income as members of AOPs, considered a separate legal entity for taxing purposes, which means an AOP pays its own taxes.
How much each member has contributed to total tax paid by his AOP will vary depending on the profit-sharing agreement usually determined at the outset of formation.
The FBR has only released total tax amounts paid by the AOPs some parliamentarians are members of, not their individual shares.
The first edition of the directory published by the FBR on its website was of tax year 2013, according to the foreword of the 2018 edition, which has been written by Prime Minister’s Adviser on Finance Abdul Hafeez Shaikh. The data shows that former premier Shahid Khaqan Abbasi, who paid in excess of Rs241 million in an individual capacity, was the highest tax-paying parliamentarian in 2018. Additionally, the AOP of which Abbasi is a member of, paid Rs769,169 in taxes.
Prime Minister Imran Khan’s tax payment in the year 2018 increased by Rs178,686 from the year before to Rs282,449. Leader of the Opposition in the National Assembly Shehbaz Sharif paid more than Rs9 million in taxes in 2018, while PPP chief Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari paid Rs294,117.
PPP co-chairperson Asif Ali Zardari paid Rs2.8 million in taxes.
Among the lawmakers and officials who did not pay any taxes, according to the data, are Federal Minister for Water Resources Faisal Vawda and Minister for Climate Change Zartaj Gul; MNAs Mohsin Dawar, Zain Hussain Qureshi (PTI) and Naz Baloch (PPP); PTI Senator Faisal Javed; PML-N Senators Shamim Afridi and Rana Maqbool; and Punjab CM Usman Buzdar.
Sindh Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah’s tax payment amounted to Rs1,022,184 in an individual capacity, while his AOP paid Rs6.3 million. Balochistan Chief Minister Jam Kamal paid Rs4.8 million in taxes and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Mahmood Khan Rs235,982.
The lowest-paying parliamentarian in 2018 was PTI’s Kanwal Shauzab, who paid a mere Rs165 as tax.
Minister for Industries Hammad Azhar paid Rs22,445 in taxes individually, while his AOP’s tax amounted to Rs59.4 million. Minister for Religious Affairs Pir Noorul Haq Qadri paid taxes through his AOP, which collectively paid Rs3.5 million.
Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood paid Rs183,900, Planning Minister Asad Umar paid Rs5.3 million; Minister for Economic Affairs Khusro Bakhtiar’s paid Rs624,292; and Minister for Science and Technology Fawad Chaudhry paid Rs1,698,651 in addition to his share in an AOP, which paid a total amount of Rs75,000.
Senator and Minister for Information Shibli Faraz paid Rs367,460, while Minister for National Food Security Fakhar Imam submitted Rs5.2 million in taxes.
Human Rights Minister Shireen Mazari paid Rs2.4 million, while Defence Minister Pervez Khattak submitted Rs1.8 million. Interior Minister Ijaz Shah, meanwhile, paid Rs58,120 in 2018.
Information Technology Minister Aminul Haque submitted Rs66,749 in taxes.
National Assembly Speaker Asad Qaiser paid Rs537,730 in an individual capacity and also submitted taxes through his AOP, which collectively paid Rs5,790,500. Deputy Speaker Qasim Suri had submitted Rs32,000 in taxes, according to the tax directory.
Taxes paid by senators
Law Minister Farogh Naseem, who paid over Rs35 million, was the highest tax-paying member of the Senate in 2018.
Senate Chairperson Sadiq Sanjrani paid Rs1.3 million in taxes during 2018, while Deputy Chairperson Saleem Mandvivalla paid Rs1.5 million.
PPP Senator Raza Rabbani paid Rs1.6 million and an amount of Rs2.6 million was paid in total tax by the AOP he is a member of, while his party member Senator Sherry Rehman submitted Rs1.5 million.
PML-N parliamentary leader in the Senate Mushahidullah Khan paid Rs316,461 in taxes in 2018, according to the directory.
