ISLAMABAD – The Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) rings alarm bells for the Pakistanis holding UAE Iqama.
FBR has demanded the UAE’s Ministry of Finance to provide information of all Pakistanis who have sought UAE Iqama under the Residence by Investment scheme.
In a statement on Monday, the FBR wrote a letter to UAE authorities. in its letter to the UAE ministry stated that such “delinquent” individuals had not only siphoned off funds from Pakistan and parked them in the UAE, but they also effectively circumvented the OECD-sponsored CRS exchange of bank and financial account information.
So far, the Emirati Ministry of Finance has not responded to all earlier requests of the FBR in this regard.
The FBR letter stated that the automatic exchange of information framework, in essence, was conceived and implemented to put up a well-coordinated and concerted global fight against organised tax theft and to inject transparency in the international taxes system.
“The UAE’s persistent silence on FBR’s efforts to develop a robust framework for sharing of structured information of Pakistani Iqama holders has not been productive so far,” the revenue authority said in its letter to the UAE Ministry of Finance.
“The best inter-nation relationships are mutually responsive, symbiotic and empathetic, and are the product of superior diplomatic wisdom.” The revenue watchdog has requested the UAE to provide a well laid-out roadmap of Pakistani Iqama holders’ information.
Alternatively, it warned, Pakistan would be constrained to seriously consider rolling out “appropriate measures”.