PESHAWAR: The Pakistan Economy Watch (PEW) lauded Finance Minister Ishaq Dar for rejecting the proposal of the FBR to slap withholding tax on foreign remittances which could have ravaging effect on the economy.
The FBR proposal to bring remittances in the tax net would have harassed the expats who send around $16 billion to Pakistan annually keeping the current account deficit under control, said Dr. Murtaza Mughal, President PEW.
He said that decrease in remittances could jack up deficit from the current 1.5 billion dollars to 17 billion dollars which will push country to default therefore overseas Pakistanis should not be harassed.
Exports are falling therefore policy makers should plan to encourage remittances which could be easily pushed up to 25 billion dollars through policy intervention.
Dr. Murtaza Mughal further said that masses and business community has lost faith in the tax system while efforts to access bank accounts has hit the credibility and deposits of banks and now it is after those who work hard in foreign countries to save money and send it to home which keeps budget stable.
Expatriates sent fifteen billion dollars to Pakistan in the last ten months while exports remained nineteen billion dollars during the same period which should raise concerns, said Dr. Mughal.
