ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s tax machinery is planning to approach authorities in the Gulf states to seek details of real estate investments by around 660 Pakistanis.
The report said the move is aimed at checking the flight of capital from the country.
“Real estate in the Gulf has emerged as one of the strongest areas for capital flight from Pakistan,” the report quoted a tax official as saying, without identifying the official.
The issue was first raised by the Financial Monitoring Unit of the government in a letter sent to the National Accountability Bureau (NAB), asking them to look into the issue.
The report in Dawn said a well-placed source in the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) said the FBR’s Directorate-General of Intelligence and Investigation constituted a team of tax experts to obtain a list of individuals who have invested in luxurious flats, apartments and other valuable properties in Gulf states.
The team has already compiled a list, which will be shared with tax authorities in the Gulf countries so the FBR can obtain details of the returns against their investments in real estate in those countries.
“We have collected data on over 660 people who are believed to have made huge investments in real estate and property in the Gulf states,” said an official quoted in the report.
According to official documents a preliminary investigation has revealed that 265 people from Karachi, 182 from Lahore, 106 from Rawalpindi and Islamabad and 15 from Peshawar have made investments abroad, the report says.
The other 92 people on the list are from other cities of the country.
Article 27 of the Avoidance Of Double Taxation Treaty And Prevention of Fiscal Evasion, which deals with ‘Exchange of Information’ between the contracting states, can be invoked by making a formal request to the Gulf countries, asking for details of Pakistani nationals who have made investments in real estate there.
The purpose of the investigation is to establish whether these people paid the necessary taxes on their money before transferring it to the Gulf for investments, the tax official said.
He said that the exact quantum of the capital that has left the country will only become clear after verification from the tax authorities of the Gulf states in question.
Meanwhile, Pakistani President Mamnoon Hussain on Wednesday directed the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) to gear up its efforts to bring corrupt elements to justice.
Addressing a national dialogue on ‘Good Governance and Development’ in Islamabad, the president asked NAB not to accept any pressure in its drive against corruption, which he said poses serious threat to socioeconomic development.
