By Editorial
THE rollout of a new interactive tax return form should ease filing by simplifying the procedure, addressing a long-standing complaint of taxpayers. The new form has an autofill system built in to seamlessly fetch data linked to the filers’ CNICs on their incomes, expenditure, assets, at-source deductions, their closing bank balance at the end of each tax year, etc. This should streamline data entry and minimise manual input by taxpayers. The new form is designed to be a step-by-step filing procedure to guide users through the process with convenience. The FBR also plans to roll it out in Urdu soon, while other versions in the major regional languages are expected to be introduced later. Besides making it easier for taxpayers to file their returns on their own without requiring any hired professional help, the move should go a long way in helping the FBR detect short-filing and evasion.
While the new tax filing reform is a positive development and makes an attempt to facilitate filers, the procedural chang