Sindh -chief Minister Murad Ali Shah accused the Federal Board of Return (FBR) of blaming the agriculture sector for covering his own failures in terms of tax collection.
Speaking in the Sindh assembly, he reiterated that Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif himself recognized the deeply rooted corruption of FBR.
“The FBR has failed in several areas, and now it blames agriculture for tax evasion,” said Murad Ali Shah. He stressed that the Sindh returned Board (SRB) systematically achieved its tax collection objectives, while FBR had trouble.
He also noted that the agricultural tax has been in place for 30 years, but in May of last year, the federal government proposed that the FBR resumes its collection.
The chief minister of Sindh, Murad Ali Shah, said: “FBR is a hub of corruption, and it was not only I who said that – even the Prime Minister admitted it. Federal taxes include a part For the provinces, but FBR, to hide its own failures, said that the agricultural sector does not pay taxes.
He added: “This story continued to spread, then the IMF said:” Tax agriculture. “After the discussions, we were informed of this request, but we refused to accept it.
Sindh -chief Minister Murad Ali Shah said, “When the IMF agreement was finalized, we only had two to three days to examine it. We sent our team and expressed our concerns. We must consider – if our farmers are unable to cultivate harvests, then where are we going to get our food? “
He added: “My family has thousands of acres in land, but after building a dam, they are no longer cultivable. Even if I wanted to sell it, no one would buy it. This highlights the ‘Importance of water.
Murad Ali Shah continued, “a few days ago, we were informed that the IMF team did not happen. If he did not come, the agreement collapsed, and that would have an impact on the whole country.
Criticizing the treatment of taxation by the federal government, he said: “The federal government should not treat the provinces in this way. My ministers and I, as well as many others, regularly pay our taxes. In fact, we pay more than those who find taxation.
He concluded by declaring that “employees contribute the highest amount in taxes”.
Meanwhile, the Sindh firm approved the 2025 agricultural income tax bill, which came into force from January.
The new tax law excludes livestock and recovery of the Board of Revenue (BOR) to the Sindh Revenue Board (SRB).
Sindh -chief Minister Murad Ali Shah said that in the event of natural disasters, tax adjustments would be made.
Land owners who hide their cultivated land will face penalties, while small agricultural companies will be taxed in 20% and larger companies at 28%.
Under the bill, farmers winning up to 150 million rupees per year will remain exempt.
Those who earn between 1550 million rupees and 200 million rupees will pay 1% tax, while higher income tranches will face rates up to 10% for profits greater than 500 million rupees.
The Sindh cabinet noted that the implementation of the tax could increase the prices of vegetables, wheat and rice.
