Time to Move from Tolerance to Action

It is disheartening that the government is sitting on over Rs 274 billion in unpaid revenues and disputed tax claims at a time when it keeps saying it does not have enough resources. Due to this, the authorities often cut spending and delay payments. Of this huge amount of arrears, almost Rs 95 billion is just unpaid taxes, fines, and charges. The other Rs 180 billion is tied up in disputes in tax offices or courts. All this revenue and tax money should have reached the treasury. It's pretty obvious that the revenue problem isn't just because the economy's slow; it's also because authorities are not doing enough to collect these arrears. They are taking too long to make decisions and have not applied tough measures against tax evaders. To address such a serious situation, the government needs to move quickly, be strict and keep at it to collect all revenue and tax arrears. If they take too long in recouping arrears, it would only allow the situation to pile up. Officers who are in charge but sit idle or try to write off taxes without good reason should be warned of dire consequences. If honest people pay their taxes on time, but loads of revenues stay unpaid for years, citizens will lose trust in the system.