KARACHI: A draft prepared by the Ministry of Finance for amending the Income Tax Ordinance 2001 to stop tax evasion and boost revenues has apparently been held in abeyance.
Sources told Customs Today that political unrest is the main cause due to which the process of amending the Income Tax Ordinance 2001 has been frozen at the moment.
The Finance Ministry was willing to declare the crime of income tax evasion, fake disclaimers of the income tax and the wrong usage of the National Tax Number (NTN) as money laundering whereas the fine penalty of Rs 50,000 to Rs 100,000 as well as imprisonment of three years was suggested in the draft.
The draft prepared by the financial expert for amending the law was shared with the opposition parties who rejected it, insisting that further amendments were required. The said draft was prepared on the request of the International Monetary Fund as the IMF has many times asked the high officials of the Finance Ministry for including the tax evasion crime as money laundering, the source added.
