APROPOS the editorial ‘Taxing non-filers’ (July 28). I feel it gives a one-sided view. First, you have presumed that non-filers do not pay any taxes at all. This is not true, as withholding taxes and indirect taxes are being paid at various stages irrespective of the fact whether the businesses make a profit or loss.

Second, and more importantly, the causes for non-filing have also not been mentioned. For filers of tax returns there is a constant fear of harassment by corrupt tax officers which is not imaginable in other countries. Such harassment is known to have made many lives miserable. Hence, before expecting filing of returns, there is a strong need to put the system perfectly in order, making erring tax officers accountable.

There is a strong need for the government to put its house in order first. It should eliminate the corruption that is rampant. The practices in our society which encourage bad governance and corruption are: the luxurious lifestyle of those in government; the wasteful spending on low-priority mega projects when most people are deprived of even basic needs, and, not least, the high level of corruption.

Forcing non-filers to file returns in such circumstances through levy of unreasonable taxes would only encourage them to find alternatives that will make the measures counter-productive. Confidence once shattered will take years to restore. Hence, until all houses are in order, it would still be better to just focus on the past subtle policy of withholding tax at source ... at rates which are reasonable and at par with filers or only fractionally higher, treating such taxes as final discharge.

Saqib Masood

Karachi

Published in Dawn, August 2nd, 2015

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