FBR reports sharp increase in tax returns for 2024

The Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) announced that it received 4.82 million tax returns by October 26 for the tax year 2024, a substantial increase from the previous fiscal year. of 2023

In fiscal year 2023, only 2.407 million income tax returns were filed, indicating that the number of returns has effectively doubled.

Additionally, the FBR disclosed that 1.82 million filers reported nil income and paid no tax on the total returns submitted for the last fiscal year.

Specifically, 869,929 individuals submitted nil returns in fiscal year 2023.

In a related development, the FBR has successfully obtained data on 195,000 individuals from the elite class, which includes details about their bank accounts, property holdings, and luxury vehicle registrations.

Earlier, Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb assured that authorities would not harass anyone for tax recovery, emphasizing the need for new legislation to enforce restrictions on those not filing tax returns.

Speaking at a press conference in Washington, the minister described his meetings with officials from the International Monetary Fund (IMF), World Bank, and others as positive.

He added that the Pakistani diaspora in the US expressed interest in investing in Pakistan.

"Available tax data will be utilized to increase revenues, without pressuring anyone," Aurangzeb said. "Non-filers will be restricted from opening bank accounts or purchasing property. This requires legislation, we need legal cover for this," he added.