ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Imran Khan said on Monday his government would not extend a June 30 deadline to avail a new tax amnesty scheme aimed at broadening the revenue base and warned that those who did not declare assets under the facility would face “confiscation and punishment.”
The scheme, approved by cabinet last month, will allow Pakistani citizens, except public office holders and their spouses, to declare hidden assets by paying 4 percent tax on domestic and 6 percent tax on offshore assets.
Speaking to Pakistan’s Geo News channel on Monday evening, Khan urged people to avail the tax amnesty scheme to avoid punishment.
“Government would not extend the deadline of the tax amnesty scheme ending on June 30,” he said, adding that people who did not declare ‘benami’ (anonymous) properties and bank accounts “would face confiscation and punishment” under new laws.
Pakistan’s $300 billion economy faces a ballooning current account deficit and dwindling foreign exchange reserves due to rising imports, low revenue collection and loss making state owned enterprises.
In a budget proposal announced earlier this month, the government targeted federal tax revenues of 5.55 trillion rupees ($36.80 billion), up 25% and driven by a lower introductory threshold for income tax and a clampdown on tax evasion. The government had failed to hit last fiscal year’s goal of 4.44 trillion rupees. The Pakistani rupee has also lost about a third of its value this year and inflation has jumped above 9%.
Last month, Pakistan reached an accord with the International Monetary Fund for a three-year, $6 billion bailout package aimed at shoring up fragile public finances and strengthening a slowing economy. The program envisages reforms to improve public finances and cut public debt, including “revenue mobilization measures to eliminate exemptions, curtail special treatments, and improve tax administration,” the IMF statement said.
The IMF loan is contingent on measures being taken to cut a budget gap that the Fund forecast at 7% in 2018/19.
In Monday’s interview, Khan said the economy was under severe stress because half the government’s income went to debt repayments and servicing interest on heavy foreign loans.
Pakistan’s national debt had increased from Rs6,000 billion to Rs30,000 billion in the last decade, the PM said, adding that the debt trap had compelled the country to keep seeking fresh loans in order to pay the interest on previous loans.
This situation was the result of rampant tax evasion and corruption, which Khan said he was resolved to weed out.
“Tax money will be utilized for the welfare of the people,” PM Khan said, directing his economic team to establish a special helpline to receive complaints against harassment by tax collecting body, the Federal Board of Revenue.
‘Confiscation and punishment’ if assets not disclosed by June 30, PM tells nation
‘Confiscation and punishment’ if assets not disclosed by June 30, PM tells nation
- Directs economic team to establish helpline for harassment complaints against tax collecting body
- Promises tax revenue will be used for “welfare of the people”
Pakistan says it seized 32 square kilometers inside Afghanistan as border clashes escalate
- Security official describes ‘limited tactical action’ in Gudwana after Afghan assaults
- Islamabad accuses Kabul of sheltering militants as UN, China and Russia urge restraint
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan has seized a 32-square-kilometer area inside Afghanistan following overnight fighting, a security official said on Saturday, as cross-border clashes between the two countries escalated sharply.
A Pakistani security official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said troops carried out a “limited tactical action” in the Gudwana area opposite the Zhob sector along the frontier, capturing Afghan territory after responding to attacks on Pakistani positions.
“On the night of Feb. 26/27, posts opposite the Zhob sector launched anticipated physical attacks on multiple Pakistani positions,” the official said, referring to fighters linked to Afghanistan’s Taliban authorities, whom Islamabad identifies as Tehreek-e-Taliban Afghanistan (TTA).
“In response to aggressive unprovoked fire and physical attacks, Pakistan security forces launched a limited tactical action on the night of Feb. 27/28 in the general area of Gudwana with a view to capture TTA Tahir Post,” he continued, adding that 32 square kilometers of Afghan territory were seized.
The official said special combat teams crossed the border after preparatory bombardment, supported by intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance assets providing “real-time battlefield awareness.”
He said 24 Afghan Taliban fighters were killed and 37 wounded, with no Pakistani casualties reported.
The claims could not be independently verified, and there was no immediate confirmation from Taliban authorities in Kabul of any territorial loss in the Gudwana area.
The latest clashes erupted after Pakistani airstrikes targeted what Islamabad described as militant hideouts inside Afghanistan over the weekend, triggering retaliatory fire along the frontier and sharply escalating long-running tensions. Islamabad accuses Kabul of sheltering Pakistani Taliban militants responsible for attacks inside Pakistan, an allegation that Afghanistan denies.
Pakistan’s Information Minister Attaullah Tarar said on Saturday evening that 352 Afghan Taliban fighters had been killed and more than 535 wounded since the latest phase of hostilities began.
Tarar said Pakistani strikes had destroyed 130 check posts, 171 tanks and armored vehicles and targeted 41 locations across Afghanistan by air. Those figures could not be independently verified.
The United Nations, as well as China and Russia, have called for restraint.
The United States said Pakistan has the right to defend itself against cross-border militancy.
