ISLAMABAD: Finance Minister Asad Umar has said the government is planning to introduce a tax amnesty scheme ahead of the budget to encourage people to declare their assets in the country and abroad.“The tax amnesty scheme is being introduced on the demand of business community,” he said while speaking to reporters here on Tuesday. “This scheme will be brought before the upcoming budget,” the finance minister added.Umar said: “The features of this tax amnesty are being prepared. I am making all the decision regarding the economy.” He added such decisions “are not made behind the close doors”.Earlier, speaking at a book launch about inequality in Pakistan, the finance minister also called for eliminating withholding taxes altogether and announced the government drafted a medium-term economic framework with the intent of leading the country’s economy towards sustainable growth.The draft will be shared with parliamentary finance committees, political parties and other stakeholders for feedback and suggestions, Umar said.The minister said he had personally suggested to the committees to utilise their forums to develop a medium-term economic framework. “Even if consensus cannot be developed on the framework, the government might still get productive feedback and suggestions,” he added.He said the committees responded positively and he was assigned a duty of drafting the framework, which he did and would share the same with the committees, political parties and media within a couple of days.Speaking about policymaking processes, the minister said: “Economic decisions should be based on sound economic theory. More importantly, on empirical research and not on self-interests.”He said the main issue being faced by the national economy was “elite capture” which influenced economic decisions, expressing the hope that Pakistan would now tread on a different path and mitigate the elite capture.Talking about budgetary recommendations, he said the proposals proposed by Pasha in the book were already included in the government’s agenda. He said withholding taxes should be eliminated. The government was working towards that direction as most of the 41 such taxes listed in the book would be eliminated.He said the Capital Gains Tax (CGT) should also be implemented on property and also favoured inheritance tax as proposed in the book. “Even after paying all the taxes, if an individual has residual wealth over a certain limit, he should pay its taxes as a social obligation,” he suggested.The minister stressed the need to raise the issue of capital secrecy at a global level, saying if a labourer had to go through every procedure to find a job in the international market, why were the same not applied on capital flows.The minister said the previous government had been talking about the Charter of Economy but never took up the issue in Parliament. He added political confrontation was not good for economy as it is having negative effects. He, however, added proceedings against elements involved in crime was not economic confrontation but upholding the rule of law, and to promote a transparent image of Pakistan.
04-03-2019, 02:39 PM
Tax amnesty scheme on the cards: Umar
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