ISLAMABAD: Approval of new income tax scheme for traders faced another setback in the National Assembly Standing Committee on Finance on Tuesday as warring sides accused each other of playing politics over the Income Tax law.

The committee, chaired by Qaiser Ahmed Sheikh, faced resistance from Nafisa Shah of PPP, Rashid Godil of MQM and Nasir Khan Khattak of the PTI over the Income Tax Amendment Bill 2016 related to a recent settlement between government and traders.

With a barrage of queries coming from these three legislators, the FBR officials found themselves defenseless. The committee witnessed extraordinary presence of 13 members.

After initial discussion, Mian Abdul Manan of the PML-N interfered on behalf of the FBR, but Dr Nafisa Shah said that the committee should conduct its proceedings on technical grounds and not on party lines.

In an earlier meeting, the FBR was told to provide details of all the five tax amnesty schemes given to business community since independence, but the FBR officials failed to do so. The secretary of finance, Dr Waqar Masood, told the members that the new regime was not an amnesty scheme.

The chairman of committee announced that the decision would be taken unanimously and the matter will be discussed in the next meeting on Jan 14. The gesture was welcomed by the members opposing the bill.

The Senate Standing Committee on Finance on Tuesday too could not reach any consensus on the new tax amnesty proposal and it was announced that a joint committee has been formed by the finance minister to clear all ambiguities.

Published in Dawn, January 13th, 2016