So in my summer break, I decided to pay up my car tokens early this year.
I own a 2017 Pak-Suzuki Swift 1328cc bought in May 2017 and registered in June 2017 at Rawalpindi ETO.
Since our local post office in cantt had relocated, so I decided to visit ETO office yesterday. As per the ETO tradition, agents were calling out for people to get their tokens paid expressly. But I decided to go sarkari(without an agent) and queue up in a long line of angry frustrated people. As there is least customer facilitation, I approached a room full of people, where someone told me that I'll have to queue up outside the same room for tokens. So I started waiting in one long queue only to notice taxi drivers, wagon drivers and van drivers around me. Someone said that the lines were number serial wise and that this queue was only for RIS, RIT. Most people had vehicle fitness certificates with them and as more people approached I started getting worried.
One of the guys leaving another queue said that I shold find the shortest line and get into it. I reluctantly took his advice and got into another smaller queue. I reached ETO at 10am and after 2hours of standing and waiting I finally reached the window at 12:15 the guy demanded Rs. 8,100 as tax. (Rs.6000 MVT + Rs.2500 Income Tax + Rs.200 Professional Tax - Rs.600 as 10% rebate on MVT till 31-08-2017). I paid in cash and was given a receipt printout + reg. book entry + car sticker right away.
But my observation was that everyone was being charged with a different tax based on model/year/date of purchase etc.
Rs. 8,100 tax a year for a Local Swift just cz it's 28cc above the floor of 1300 is totally unjustified, this places a 1.3 vehicle in the category of 1.4/1.5. The difference is huge, and what I fail to understand is why the govt. keeps saying that people don't pay taxes. I'm a filer, while most of the people there were not filers, which I presume results in even higher taxes so much as 5000 more than me.
Rs. 13500 of tax per year for not even getting so much service as a clean air conditioned room to wait for paying the tax is not only unjustified but is simply too much. Shouldn't there be any voice to ask the govt. to reduce tokens? Especially those that come after income tax and huge withholding tax and general sales tax of the vehicle?
I'm sorry to say but this shows that the govt. doesn't want it's citizens to file or hold legitimate wealth and a decent standard of living without evading taxes.
Some times I feel it's a crime being born a punjabi, while other provinces maintain less taxes and even Islamabad which is next doors has a lower tax (Rs.6000/year lower), while far better roads and services. I wonder where does all this tax money go if not Panama. The other option is to submit false declarations and register in Islamabad instead, if it means Rs.60,000 lesser tax in 10 years.