Punjab Assembly approves Punjab Agricultural Income Tax 2024 Bill

Punjab Assembly has approved Punjab Agricultural Income Tax 2024 Bill despite the opposition by the PPP on Thursday, reported 24NewsHD TV channel. 

Parliamentary Affairs Minister Mujtaba Shuja-ur-Rehman introduced the bill. Speaker Malik Muhammad Ahmad Khan earlier had referred the bill to the relevant standing committee for consideration. 

On Thursday all the amendments proposed by the opposition were rejected. After the approval of the Agricultural Income Tax Punjab Bill, the tax will also be applied on livestock. After approval of agricultural income tax, super tax will be imposed on high income farmers. Income tax exemption on agricultural land has been abolished through the amendment. Income earned from agricultural land along with livestock will also be taxed and tax on livestock will also be counted as agricultural tax. 

Livestock shall be defined as per the Punjab Livestock Breeding Act, 2014. After the passage of the bill, the agricultural income tax defaulter will be fined 0.1% of the tax amount for every additional day. After the approval of the bill, the non-payer of agricultural tax with agricultural income less than 12 lakhs can also be fined 10,000. After the approval of the bill, the non-payer of agricultural tax with agricultural income of less than 4 crores will be fined 25,000. After the approval of the bill, the non-payer of agricultural tax with agricultural income of more than four crores will be fined 50,000. A farmer with an income of up to twelve lakhs shall pay a maximum fine of ten thousand rupees. 

A farmer with an income of Rs 12 lakh to Rs 4 crore will be fined Rs 20,000 for non-payment of tax. In the Agricultural Income Tax Act 2024, the tax schedule listed in the Agricultural Income Tax Act of 1997 has also been abolished. The ruling coalition PPP strongly opposed the Agricultural Income Tax Act 2024. Without PPP, the Punjab government passed the Agricultural Income Tax Bill in the Punjab Assembly. The PPP protested against the Agricultural Income Tax Bill in the Punjab Assembly and staged a walkout from the House.

Reporter: Hassan Ali