Traders support FBR in netting tax evaders

ISLAMABAD - The National Traders Alliance (NTA) while welcoming the FBRs move to net big tax evaders has cautioned the Government of possible adverse reaction of property and business mafia.
The real estate mafia and business tycoons would try to mobilise traders to neutralise the actions taken by the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) for boosting tax collections, but we offer the Government full support to net the big fish, a press statement issued by NTA stated here on Thursday.
The statement also said that tax evaders deserved stern action across the country as tax theft had a more devastating effect than the National Reconciliation Ordinance (NRO). It amounts to the genocide of the poor, it said.
Vice President NTA Malik Sohail said that the Alliance requested the traders to extend full support to the Government and avoid falling prey to mafias that have been using them for decades. We should not become part of the conspiracy against the stability of the Government and the country, he said.
He urged the FBR to focus on big fish, especially the property mafia, instead of small traders to boost revenues. The real estate dealers earned billion of rupees during 2000-2007 but did not pay a single penny in taxes, Malik Sohail claimed.
Property mafia, business magnates, landlords and professionals have been evading taxes for decades while small traders have remained the target of tax collecting authorities, which cannot be justified under any circumstances, he said.
He welcomed the FBRs shift in policy from focusing on existing taxpayers to netting big tax evaders. Now the big fish would have to shoulder responsibility to the nation, he said.