Asaan Tajir App can bring over 4m new taxpayers and yield 100b in Tax: Zahid

Digital enforcement should prevail on coercive enforcement: Business leader KARACHI Mian Zahid Hussain, President Pakistan Businessmen and Intellectuals Forum and All Karachi Industrial Alliance, Chairman National Business Group Pakistan, Chairman Policy Advisory Board FPCCI, and Former Provincial Minister Information Technology, has welcomed the launch of the Asaan Tajir App, calling it a necessary step towards broadening the tax base, simplifying compliance and reducing unnecessary interaction between small traders and FBR officials. Mian Zahid Hussain said that the Asaan Tajir App was announced at a joint press conference by Federal Minister for Finance and Revenue Senator Muhammad Aurangzeb, Minister of State for Finance Bilal Azhar Kayani and FBR Chairman Rashid Mahmood Langrial. This initiative of Prime Minister Mian Shehbaz Sharif's government will help bring millions of undocumented retailers into the formal economy. He said that under the new scheme, eligible owners of a single shop have been provided with a one-page return, simple registration and the facility to pay tax equal to one percent of annual turnover, subject to a minimum annual payment of Rs25,000. The Urdu interface, facilitation arrangements and proposed Green Plate for tax-compliant traders are encouraging measures. He further said that the government's assurance that FBR officials would not visit the shops of Green Plate holders should be binding by virtue of law. An independent and time-bound mechanism should also be established to resolve complaints relating to unnecessary notices, visits or demands. Mian Zahid Hussain stated that the scheme aims to bring approximately 4.2 million small traders and shopkeepers into the tax net. If initially only one million traders join the scheme and pay the minimum tax, the national exchequer could receive Rs25 billion annually. However, the success of the scheme should be measured by the number of new taxpayers and additional revenue generated rather than app downloads. He said that salaried taxpayers paid approximately Rs633 billion in income tax during FY2025-26, while around Rs70 billion was collected from the wholesale and retail supply chain under withholding provisions Sections 236G and 236H. This difference shows that the existing tax system relies mainly on salaried persons and regularly tax-paying businesses, and the same segment cannot bear further burdens. Mian Zahid Hussain stressed that taxpayers already within the tax net should be provided facilitation instead of coercive treatment. At the same time, digitalisation must be used to identify individuals and businesses operating outside the tax system and bring them into the documented economy. Pakistan cannot sustainably increase its revenues by placing additional pressure on the same documented taxpayers year after year. Mian Zahid Hussain demanded the introduction of a one-page, pre-filled return for salaried taxpayers. FBR already receives salary and deducted-tax information from employers; therefore, taxpayers should not be required to provide the same information repeatedly. Salaried persons should only be asked to confirm their salary, tax paid, bank profit, major assets and refund-related information. He added that the Asaan Tajir App should be made available in English, Urdu, Sindhi, Pashto and Balochi. Its Apple version, web portal and assisted-return-filing facility should also be provided free of charge. Help desks should be established at FPCCI, trader organisations and district tax offices to assist traders lacking digital skills.