ALL compliant tax filers must have been dismayed to learn that the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR), just as it does every year, has announced an extension for the filing of income tax returns, which can now be filed till Oct 15. Taking cue from the last many years, those indulging in speculative betting can safely assume this is the first of a few more extensions, and the tax-filing date would keep on getting extended till at least the end of the year.

Having filed my own income tax return in mid-September, I would suggest that the government should announce at least a five per cent rebate in tax for all compliant tax-filers who submitted their respective returns before the original due date of Sept 30, and to slap an appropriate penalty on late filers. This policy of rewarding the compliant filers and penalising late filers would be in line with the current practice of imposing different withholding tax (WHT) rates for filers and non-filers. Unless the FBR system holds all non- compliant tax filers accountable, the tax culture in the country will never improve.

Moin Mohajir
Karachi

Published in Dawn, October 8th, 2026