Five-marla houses given tax exemption

[Salman]

Five-marla houses given tax exemption

RAWALPINDI: The eight-year long campaign of the Excise and Taxation Department against property tax defaulters on Thursday ended in smoke as the Punjab government exempted owners of five-marla houses from the tax.

The owners of five-marla houses that did not pay property tax till 2004 had been given tax exemption as Chief Minister Punjab Shahbaz Sharif took the decision on the recommendation of PML-N lawmakers of Rawalpindi.

According to an official statement, the owners of five-marla houses across the province would have the tax exemption.

In Rawalpindi, the taxation authorities had sealed over 20 houses besides issuing notices to thousands of defaulters for paying their arrears but Thursday’s decision by provincial government would deprive the tax authorities of Rs120 million.

Though it is a relief for the house owners, but the Punjab exchequer would lose revenue collection of Rs600 million but the official sources said that it was a popular decision at a time when elections were around the corner.

“A man who owns a five-marla house in expensive localities in Rawalpindi cannot be dubbed as poor. How can one exempt a person from tax when he affords to buy a single marla of land for Rs300, 000,” an official of Excise and Taxation Department
said while talking to Dawn wishing anonymity.

PML-N MPAs Raja Hanif, Ziaullah Shah, Shaukat Bhatti and Ghulam Raza on Thursday hailed the decision of chief minister arguing that the tax exemption would give relief to the poor house owners.