Amnesty shows 91pc assets declarants are registered

Amnesty shows 91pc assets declarants are registered

ISLAMABAD: The Amnesty Scheme 2018 has shown the 91 percent tax dodgers, who availed the scheme for declaring undisclosed foreign assets were registered with tax department.

According to presentation of the finance ministry on the previous tax amnesty scheme, the analysis showed around 6,195 persons availed the scheme to declare foreign assets.

It revealed that out of total declarants of foreign assets around 5,625 were already income tax return filers and registered with the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR).

Only 570 declarants of foreign assets were those who had file their returns for the first time.

In the last scheme black money/undeclared assets of around Rs1,060 billion was whitened out of that declaration the FBR got only Rs47 billion as tax revenue. The average tax rate to document the undisclosed foreign assets was 4.43 percent.

Only Rs6.42 billion worth foreign assets were repatriated under the amnesty scheme. While another Rs3.34 billion was investment into the government securities availing the amnesty scheme.

The finance ministry said that amnesty scheme 2018 for undisclosed foreign assets was mostly availed by filers.

Foreign amnesty scheme declaration showed 25 percent declarations in immovable properties mainly in UAE, UK and Canada.

It also revealed that people preferred to keep money outside Pakistan.

The documentation of domestic assets/cash declared under the amnesty scheme 2018 was stood at Rs1,503 billion by 76,952 persons. The FBR received an amount of Rs75 billion as tax revenue.

Interestingly, the quantum of black money invested in prize bonds and cash was 65 percent out of domestic assets that was whitened under the amnesty scheme.

The analysis showed that local scheme was primarily used for money whitening. It is further identified that amnesty did not lead to higher number of tax payments for return for return of tax year 2018.

It said that undisclosed properties and bank accounts still remain largely undisclosed.