LAHORE, Nov 5: The income tax authorities have collected Rs3.102 billion from the Lahore zone till Sept 30 against a collection of Rs3.05 billion last year.

During the same period, they received 164,700 tax returns — six per cent more than the last year. But the payments against these returns saw an increase of 80 per cent; Rs736 million against Rs409 million last.

The tax authorities attributed this increase to the tax survey and the government’s commitment to maximize its revenue. Had there been any extension in the last date of submitting tax returns, the collection could have gone up to 90 per cent. But the government stuck to its earlier deadline, and there was little the tax authorities could have done about it, says a tax official.

The tax collection was bound to suffer during the next few months due to Afghan war, he said. The war had taken a heavy toll on the businesses, especially export-related. The dip in business was bound to hit the tax revenue hard.

The textile industry had taken the heaviest of battering due to the war. The quota relaxation from the European Union would take some time to translate into orders from the private sector, the textile business would remain low till such time and so would be tax collection in the country, he said.

The business community could be pressed for tax collection but only up to a point, he said and added that unless business took off in the country, tax collection could only be increased to a limited extent. “The government must concentrate on generation of economic activity. Its present stress on revenue collection has hurt the economic growth. Tax collection can only follow business growth, not vice versa,” he said.