Tax Amnesty scheme: Shocking Rs 6,000 billion of black money whitened but government fails in tax target
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ISLAMABAD - In a shocking revelation it has surfaced that Rs6,000 billion worth of black money has been whitened through the tax amnesty scheme.
By June 30, the FBR was able to collect Rs90 billion and $300 million tax through the amnesty scheme. The major chunk of the money brought into the country will be invested in real estate, jacking up the property prices.
However, another official who played a key role in devising this scheme told this scribe that the basic idea was floated to bring in $2 to $3 billion from offshore assets but it required constitutional guarantees which the previous PML-N regime failed to manage in the wake of stiff opposition from its political opponents.
Then the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) also opposed the scheme and the former premier announced the scheme oblivious to the FATF objection to the finance minister.
By the time the last government came to know about the concerns of FATF, it had already announced the scheme. The FBR and the government team had to struggle hard to remove the FATF concerns on the amnesty scheme and finally both sides evolved a consensus that criminal proceeds will not be availed through the scheme.
