The Federal Board of Revenue (FBR), in its initiative to collect tax from the citizens, has also requested showbiz and media personalities to declare their assets, warning them that if they don’t they will also face disciplinary action.
In this regard, the FBR held an amnesty scheme awareness session at Karachi’s regional tax office to brief the members of the entertainment industry about the advantages of the amnesty scheme, its procedure, the rate of tax and fines. Those in attendance included actors Farhan Saeed, Urwa Hocane and Neelum Munir and model Nadia Hussain among others. Urwa and Nadia even shared pictures of the meeting on social media.
The in-Land Revenue Chief Commissioner of the FBR told those present that the board has collected data of their properties and bank accounts in the country and abroad and those who hide their assists will also have to face disciplinary action, like the rest of the country. The commissioner assured the artists that details of assets declared in the amnesty scheme will remain safe and private and that no one will question the declared assets.
Members of the entertainment industry who participated in the session said that artistes, like the public, have been paying taxes on their income and expenditures.
They also shared their concerns with the board telling them that some lawyers claim to provide tax consultation but collude with the FBR officials to blackmail taxpayers.
Model Nadia also said that the artists are usually paid after tax deductions but there is a great difficulty in obtaining tax challan. The artistes do not work in one city but with many institutes all over the country and that is why obtaining tax challan from every institution takes a lot of time. She asserted there was a need to make this process easy.
Several local celebrities have been raising awareness on the government’s tax amnesty scheme and are encouraging the public to play their role in the country’s development.
