Punjab: Beauty parlours, private schools may be included in tax net

[Naveed Yaseen]

* Punjab government to earn millions if tax imposed

By Anwer Hussain Sumra

LAHORE: The Punjab government may start taxation of beauty parlours and private education institutions in the 2009-10 budget to improve revenue collection from indigenous resources.

The Excise and Taxation Department, with the assistance of economic advisers, started a project to collect data of all such businesses in the province, sources in the department said.

They said the Punjab government had only managed to collect 40 percent (Rs 22 billion) of the target (Rs 56 billion) from indigenous resources. They said it had forecast that a lower share from divisible pool under the next National Finance Commission for the upcoming Annual Development Programme. Several proposals are under consideration by the revenue collecting agencies and departments, and would be presented before the Resources Generation Committee for further deliberation, they said. The Excise and Taxation Department was directed to submit proposals regarding the imposition of new tax on profit earning businesses such as beauty parlours and private education institutions, the sources said. They said the government wanted to expand the tax net, adding that the issue was whether to impose sales tax on the businesses or professional tax.

According to an estimate, they said, there were more than 60 A-class beauty parlours and 150 private schools across the city. A beauty parlour supervisor said several beauty parlours had been established across the city in the past five years, adding that a normal parlour charged Rs 20,000 per bride and Rs 10,000 per groom for makeup. He said the clientele of the parlours had increased tremendously as it had become more socially acceptable as well as a status symbol in society. The sources said education institutions offering Ordinary and Advanced levels were growing daily, adding that most well reputed institutions earned millions per year but were not being taxed.

Millions: Sources said the Punjab government would earn millions if the taxes were imposed, adding the funds would be utilised for various development schemes across the province.

http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp...009_pg13_4