As the government imposes a 10 percent withholding tax on marriage halls, couples and event organizers in Pakistan should expect higher costs when planning a wedding ceremony.
According to a report by Pak Observer on Saturday, the Shehbaz Sharif government is taking measures to bolster tax collection by strengthening the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR), which has introduced the 10 percent withholding tax on marriage halls. It will now be the responsibility of event organizers to pay this tax.
Shockingly, marriage hall owners will not be liable for this tax. Instead, those who organize events using marriage halls will be required to pay the withholding tax. There is also no concept of involving middle-class event organizers, whose higher fees make it difficult for them to manage their living expenses.
The report states that the new tax directives are part of FBR’s efforts to streamline revenue collection in the wedding and event sector. These measures are being implemented as FBR officials are grappling with a significant revenue shortfall. While their tax collection target was 1,003 billion, they were only able to collect 855 billion in November.
If you are also planning a wedding, you should already be considering how to address such issues. Paying the withholding tax to the government will always be a good choice to maintain good relations with the Federal Board of Revenue and law-enforcement agencies.
