PTI rejects tax amnesty scheme

Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf Chairman Imran Khan Friday rejected the government's new amnesty scheme allowing Pakistanis to remit offshore wealth at only two percent tax rate. In a tweet here, he termed the amnesty scheme a brazen attempt by Prime Minister Abbasi to save criminals. "Why would the Prime Minister seek to do this just 45 days before government's term ends? Why just two-week before budget? This is a tax on honest people - a slap on the face of honest taxpayers," he tweeted.
He further said that the questionable intent of the scheme was reflected in the confusion deliberately caused by PM Abbasi verbally referring to the scheme not being applicable to "politically exposed persons" while the document being circulated refers to "holders of public office and public servants." Khan alleged if the circulating document was correct, former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, former Finance Minister Ishaq Dar and former President Asif Ali Zardari will be off the hook and will be able to take advantage of this scheme to benefit tax evaders and money launderers.
Speaking at a press conference, PTI MNA Asad Umar said that the scheme has nothing to do with the efforts to broaden the tax net and rather the objective of the ruling party is to whiten their black money. He said the Prime Minister should stop fooling the nation under the pretext of tax reforms. He said the PML-N government has no shame in imposing multiple taxes on the taxpayers but no serious efforts are ever made to bring the tax evaders into the tax net during their tenure.
He further said that rather than taking serious measures, now the federal government has announced another amnesty scheme, despite the fact that the previous amnesty schemes introduced by them had failed to lure the rich tax evaders. "Launching the amnesty scheme without consulting the Parliament is tantamount to contempt of the Parliament. I warn the government not to bypass the Parliament. In case, the government decides to continue its autocratic rule, PTI would strongly oppose it on all fronts," he warned.
He also said that the NA Standing Committee on Finance had unanimously passed a resolution stating that no amnesty scheme should be announced without prior consultation with the relevant NA standing committee. PTI leader Dr Babar Awan said the scheme is Nawaz-specific. He claimed that it is aimed at indemnifying the two sons of Nawaz Sharif - Hassan Nawaz and Hussain Nawaz - who were the owners of Avenfield flats and offshore companies. He also claimed that the amnesty scheme was introduced only after all other options were exhausted by the former prime minister.