The tax payment by Prime Minister Imran Khan fell by about 35% to Rs103,763 ($748) in the tax year 2017, from Rs159,609 the previous year, while that of former premier Nawaz Sharif saw a staggering fall of 860% in that period.
Sharif paid Rs2.524mn in 2016, when he was prime minister, but it fell to Rs263,173 in 2017, a decline of Rs2.27mn.
However, former prime minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi’s tax payment saw a growth of over 16% to Rs3.086mn in 2017, from Rs2.65mn the previous year.
The fifth tax directory of parliamentarians released by Minister of State for Revenue Hammad Azhar has provided some insight into the wealth of members of the National Assembly, Senate, and provincial assemblies, but lifestyles and expenditures of many of them are in stark contrast to what their income tax declarations indicate.
The directory prepared by the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) shows that, save a few exceptions, the sums paid as income tax by most of the elected representatives are laughably low and do not match their princely lifestyles.
Former member of the National Assembly (MNA) Jahangir Khan Tareen, who was disqualified by the Supreme Court, was the richest parliamentarian in the country in 2017, with a tax payment of Rs97.3mn, while member of the Provincial Assembly (MPA) Khatu Mal Jeewan, with Rs1,145 tax payment, was the poorest.
In the tax year 2016, Tareen was also the richest parliamentarian with Rs53.67mn tax payment.
Former Punjab chief minister and current MNA Shehbaz Sharif paid Rs10.29mn in tax, while his son Hamza Shehbaz paid Rs8.26mn in 2017.
Sindh Chief Minister Sindh Murad Ali Shah paid Rs988,864 in 2017, besides a hefty Rs7.08mn in the category of association of persons (AoP).
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Mahmood Khan paid Rs232,725.
Baluchistan Chief Minister Jam Kamal Khan paid Rs6.14mn in 2017.
Punjab Assembly Speaker Pervez Elahi paid Rs2.13mn.
Awami Muslim League (AML) chief Sheikh Rashid Ahmed paid Rs702,698 in tax, Pakhtunkhwa Milli Awami Party chief Mehmood Khan Achakzai paid Rs138,573, Jamaat-e-Islami emir Sirajul Haq Rs138,573, and Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam – Fazlur (JUI-F) chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman paid Rs125,225.
The directory was compiled on the basis of returns filed with the FBR.
According to the directory, the senators paid more income tax in 2017 than the MNAs.
Of the 104 senators, 98 filed tax returns.
Senator Talha Mehmood from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa paid the highest income tax of Rs43.18mn, while Rubina Khalid of the Pakistan People Party paid only Rs44,485.
Other top taxpaying senators are Rozi Khan from Baluchistan (Rs40.86mn, second highest), Taj Mohamed Afridi (Rs29.3mn, third highest), Dr Farogh Naseem (Rs27.88mn), Aitzaz Ahsan (Rs25.86mn), Muhsin Aziz (Rs1.5mn), Farooq H Naek (Rs11.06mn), Ishaq Dar (Rs9.38mn), Shahi Syed (Rs2.4mn), Chaudhry Tanvir Khan (Rs3.03mn), Lieutenant General (retired) Abdul Qayum (Rs3.12mn), Sherry Rehman (Rs1.8mn), Saleem Mandviwalla (Rs1.44mn), and Islamuddin Shaikh (Rs1.89mn).
Senator Raza Rabbani paid Rs605,984 income tax, along with his contribution in AoP.
Most senators paid income tax in the range of Rs100,000 to Rs200,000, followed by Rs200,000 to Rs400,000, with some exceptions.
The MNAs who paid taxes in 2017 are: Sheikh Fayyazuddin (Rs14.01mn), Khawaja Saad Rafique (Rs5.22mn), Khawaja Mohamed Asif (Rs5.56mn), Finance Minister Asad Umar (Rs4.84mn), Bismillah Khan (Rs4.59mn), Ghulam Ahmed Bilour (Rs138,573), Aftab Sherpao (Rs1.17mn), Captain (retired) Mohamed Safdar (Rs165,243), Murad Saeed (Rs241,946), Dr Tariq Fazal Chaudhry (Rs255,555), former interior minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan (Rs1.72mn), Ghulam Sarwar Khan (Rs1.38mn), former minister Khurrum Dastgir Khan (Rs284,780), Saira Afzal Tarar (Rs190,739), and former NA speaker Sardar Ayaz Sadiq (Rs289,174).
Only two MNAs paid less than Rs100,000 in taxes – Rasheed Ahmed Khan (Rs34,941) and Ihsanur Rahman Mazair (Rs96,949).
Most of the MNAs paid income tax of between Rs100,000 and Rs300,000.
As many as 61 members of the Baluchistan Assembly filed their tax returns in 2017, and only three of them paid less than Rs1mn, which is unprecedented compared to other provinces.
Sardar Sanaullah Zehri paid the highest tax of Rs10.1mn, while Abdul Malik paid the lowest tax of Rs640,248.
Of the 369 members of the Punjab Assembly, 30 did not file returns for 2017.
MPA Chaudhry Arshad Javaid Warraich is the highest taxpayer with Rs13.6mn, followed by former Punjab chief minister Shehbaz Sharif (Rs10.29mn), Ghulam Saeed Butt (Rs5.8mn), Sheikh Aladdin (Rs4.8mn), and Monis Elahi (Rs5.77m).
The least income tax of Rs4,100 was paid by Malik Mohamed Iqbal Channar and Malik Nadeem Kamran, followed by Rs5,645 by Raheela Anwar.
Around 125 MPAs paid less than Rs50,000.
Of the 168 members of the Sindh Assembly, 23 did not file their returns for 2017, but their names exist on the tax roll.
Sohail Anwar Khan Siyal is the highest taxpayer in the assembly with Rs2.3mn, and the lowest by Poonjo Bheel (Rs3,500), Ali Nawaz Shah (Rs4,053), and Shahid Taheem (Rs5,604).
Around 64 MPAs paid less than Rs50,000 tax in 2017.
Of the 123 members of the KP Assembly, 17 did not file their returns for 2017.
Sardar Zahoor Ahmad paid the highest tax of Rs14mn, followed by Amjad Khan Afridi (Rs6.36mn), Nawabzada Wali Mohamed Khan (Rs6.08mn), Fazal Shakoor Khan (Rs3.76mn), and Jamshaidudain (Rs2.76mn).
Most of the MPAs in KP paid more than Rs100,000, with few exception of more than Rs50,000 as income tax.