ISLAMABAD – The Supreme Court on Thursday adjourned hearing till Friday in a case pertaining to the imposition of super tax by the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR). During the hearing, Justice Hassan Azhar Rizv remarked that members of parliament were the representatives who come through people’s votes , and they should be cognizant of the public problems. A five-member bench of the top headed by Justice Amin Ud Din Khan heard the case. The taxpayer’s lawyer Khalid Javed commenced the arguments. Justice Jamal Khan Mandokhel inquired about the procedure for bringing a bill in parliament. The taxpayer’s lawyer took the position that policy making and tax collectors were two different things. “Tax collectors are from the FBR who collect taxes, policy formulation is the job of parliament, if I am a policy maker, I will ask experts whether the public benefits or suffers from it,” he said. Justice Hassan Azhar Rizvi remarked that members of parliament are elected by the people and should know what the public issues are. Khalid Javed took the stand that till date no tax expert has been called in parliament to discuss the profit and loss after tax. Justice Hassan Azhar Rizvi said that “we had asked the same question to the FBR lawyers. The FBR lawyers replied that experts are called from different chambers of commerce. Justice Muhammad Ali Mazhar remarked that “ in-principle, experts should have their opinions before imposing a tax.”
Justice Amin Ud Din Khan said that “it should also be clear how many people will be affected if a 10 percent tax is imposed.” The hearing of the case was adjourned till 9:30 on Friday.