KARACHI: Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi has announced a big relief for salary persons by enhancing tax exempt income up to Rs1.2 million from Rs400,000.
The prime minister announced the income-tax reforms package, which also included a tax amnesty scheme to bring the non-taxpayers and tax evaders into the tax-net and broaden the revenue base of the country where only 1.2 million people pay tax out of the total population of 207 million.
Under the new one-time tax-amnesty scheme which would be available till June 30, 2018, local and foreign assets in the shape of cash could be whitened by paying 5 percent and 2 percent penalty, respectively, on the undeclared assets.
Besides, the prime minister said, the amnesty scheme also provided a facility of one-time payment of 3 percent penalty for whitening of non-cash assets.
The prime minister further announced that those having undeclared dollar accounts in foreign countries could also declare the same and whiten the money by paying 5 percent of the undeclared dollar amounts.
He, however, clarified that the “politically exposed” people and their families would not be eligible to benefit from the new tax-amnesty scheme, which unlike the past was not meant to generate revenue but to bring the non-taxpayers and tax evaders into the tax-net and broaden the tax base.
