ISLAMABAD: The Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) has given a proposal to Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif to prevent the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) and Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) from investigations with regard to the proposed offshore tax amnesty scheme.
Daily Times has learnt that the tax department proposed to provide legal cover to those who will disclose their offshore companies. FIA and NAB would be barred to conduct investigation against the offshore company owners.
The FBR has dispatched the proposal to Nawaz regarding the offshore tax amnesty scheme. Pakistan would be able to get Rs 200 billion investment by implementing the scheme, sources added.
The proposed scheme will be for a period of six months. Different rates have been fixed for those who bring the money back from abroad. Sources said this will be the 4th amnesty scheme during the tenure of the Nawaz-led government.
According to the proposal, the tax rate is five percent for the first two months, 7.5 percent for third and fourth month and it will be 10.5 percent for those who will bring their money back in the last two months. Finance Minister Ishaq Dar and SECP chairman had given statements in the favour of the scheme.
Seeking anonymity, an official said the government would receive enormous revenue through the scheme. Neighbouring countries have offered the same scheme after the Panama leaks surfaced, the official added.
Advisor to Prime Minister on Revenue Haroon Akhtar Khan has prepared the amnesty scheme in consultations with FBR officials, he added.
Earlier, tax consultant Ashfaq Tola had presented a similar scheme to the Finance Ministry, but the ministry paid no heed to it.
The government had announced the scheme for the real estate sector in December 2016. The government collected Rs 320 million until January 24 and around Rs 10 billion black money was converted into white.
The Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz government is under extreme pressure after the names of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif’s family members surfaced in the Panama leaks. Apparently, the amnesty scheme aims at rescuing big wigs, including the Sharifs from legal action.
