ISLAMABAD, Pakistan: The Senate was informed on Tuesday that nothing has yet been finalized on the tax amnesty scheme.
Winding up discussion on an adjournment motion on the issue, Minister for Law and Justice Zahid Hamid told the Upper House it was proposed by the Senate Standing Committee on Finance to Federal Board of Revenue to prepare such a scheme.
Furthermore, the government had also received the demand from Federation of Pakistan Chamber of Commerce and Industry (FPCCI) to go for such a scheme to facilitate the tax payers and business community, he added.
The minister said such schemes had been successful in countries like Indonesia and India where the respective governments legalized undeclared assets worth billions of dollars.
Zahid Hamid also commented on the issue in the perspective of a recent international agreement among 105 states that relates to declaring assets and accounts of nationals of a country, in another country.
The minister said, once this agreement is materialized, the information about assets and accounts abroad shall automatically start to flow to the countries of origin of those nations who hold accounts and assets abroad.
However, he clarified that nothing has been finalized yet on this issue although it has been recommended to the government by the Standing Committee as well as the FPCCI.
Earlier speaking on the motion, Senators Azam Khan Swati and Tahir Mashhadi had objected that such a scheme would facilitate those businessmen who had evaded tax.
It would help the tax evaders to get their black money whitened and would further worsen the condition of poor people in the country, they added.
“The government should take steps to benefit the poor, revamp the tax system and bring those into tax net who were flourishing their businesses at the cost of poor consumers,” the Senators said.
“These affluent evade taxes instead of contributing to national kitty thus hampering the development activities”.
