ISLAMABAD – The Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Thursday declared the imposition of super tax on high-income corporations unlawful.
Justice Sardar Ejaz Ishaq Khan announced the verdict, declaring all notifications about recovery the super tax null and void.
The Income Tax Ordinance’s Section 4C was also invalidated by the court, thus invalidating the tax’s legal foundation.
Salman Akram Raja and Adnan Haider Randhawa, among other well-known solicitors, defended the petitioners who disputed the legality of the super tax. They argued that levying such a tax was unfair and harmful to the expansion of high-income firms.
The tax was introduced by Finance Minister Ishaq Dar last month during his budget speech.
The super tax would be imposed on the firms making Rs500 million or more per annum. Initially, it was decided that super tax would be imposed on those earning more than Rs300 million annually, but the decision was reviewed later.
The super tax, set at 4% for all industries, had been approved by the Supreme Court in February. Initially, the government assessed it at 4% for certain industries and 10% for others.
Although it stated that a tax of more than 4% was not permitted by the law, the Lahore High Court had also accepted the levy.
LHC axes super tax to 4 percent, terming it legal but ‘discriminatory’
