Minister rules out any further amnesty scheme
ISLAMABAD: Finance Minister Asad Umar has said that nabbing the corrupt and thieves is two-edged sword as many in other countries are asking as to when the looters of public wealth are to be put behind the bars.
Ruling out possibility of any further tax amnesty scheme, he said that the government obtained data of about 152,000 resourceful Pakistanis owning assets abroad after operationalisation of Organisation of Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) agreement from different 27 countries.
He said that the government decided establishment of specialised unit in Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) for dealing with high net worth individuals who owned properties in a Gulf country and named in Panama and other leaks but they never bothered to declare anything here in Pakistan.
Umar said that no amnesty scheme was under consideration. He said Saudi Arabia was bringing $5 to $6 billion investment for establishment of refinery in Gwadar and the cabinet was expected to grant approval next week.
Asked about efforts to broaden the tax net, Umar replied that the government separated policy and administration in FBR and brought major changes at the highest levels. He said that the government brought changes in law and made available the data of banks to the FBR.
“Prime Minister Imran Khan possessed credibility and data analysts available at different parts of the world were willing to come to assist the government and it shared data with them and so far sent out 3001 notices to those owning properties and became high net worth individuals. I am not fond of sending someone behind the bars and we only want to get due share in taxes,” Umar added.
The minister alleged that former prime minister Nawaz Sharif violated constitution when he stated that he had never allowed movement in exchange rate. “It’s not sign of male chauvinism of keeping exchange rate stable artificially because it’s domain of the central bank that takes decision on the basis of economic variables.”
The economic decision making, he said, should be done with mind not on the wish of heart and cited examples that for dispensation of justice it is the domain of the courts so specialised institutions are meant to take decisions on economic matters.