Our national flag carrier isn't paying taxes, FBR freezes its bank accounts
Business
Spokesperson says flight operations aren’t disturbed
LAHORE (Web Desk) – Our national flag carrier is among those not paying the taxes as the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) was forced to freeze the bank accounts of Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) – ironically at a time when the government is shifting the entire responsibility to the poor masses for shouldering the burden of revenue generation.
It is said that the PIA has to pay Rs2.8 billion in taxes – a figure disputed by the airline which claims that the amount stands around Rs1.3bn.
The information was shared by a PIA spokesperson, who said the PIA management was in contact with the FBR, as expressed the hope that the bank accounts would be unblocked soon.
However, the spokesperson said that the flight operations and other activities were running smoothly despite the harsh measure taken by the FBR.
The news comes as a latest report released by the Finance Division showed that the government expenditure was on the rise in FY23 amid higher revenue collection mainly due to non-tax measures and indirect taxes, again reflecting the failure to broaden the base and introducing direct taxation for the sectors.
Read more: High interest rates propels govt expenditure
As even the PIA isn’t paying the paying the taxes, it seems that the government is applying the formula of squeeze the masses to the maximum through indirect taxation while shielding the wealthy classes even during the current financial crunch.
Meanwhile, the most important point coming out of this report that increasing the interest is biting the government itself as the State Bank of Pakistan isn’t ready to reverse the rate hikes policy amid continuous protest by the business community and the grave consequences by the people.
