No plan to introduce tax amnesty scheme, Senate body told

ISLAMABAD: The Senate Standing Committee on Finance was informed on Friday that the government had no plan to introduce any tax amnesty scheme for whitening black money as it was against ‘moral grounds and ethics’.

“The government holds no plan to introduce any fresh tax amnesty scheme for tax evaders or those who hold black money,” federal Finance Secretary Dr Waqar Masood informed the committee.

He was responding to the budget proposal by Senator Talha Mehmood who suggested that fresh tax amnesty scheme to regularise black economy should be introduced at the rate of two per cent tax.

Chairman of the committee Senator Saleem Mandviwalla, however, expressed concern over the tax amnesty scheme on the grounds that it was generally considered discrimination against regular taxpayers.

As Senator Mehmood pushed on with his suggestion trying to persuade the FBR team at the meeting to introduce a new tax amnesty scheme, Mr Mandviwalla said that the rate of tax could be enhanced from two per cent but it would allow new investors to legalise their money.

Senator Saud Majeed extended his support to the idea, asking about international obligations over such amnesty schemes.

FBR Chairman Nisar Mohammad Khan told the committee that all such schemes since 1958 had failed to yield the desired results.

“There are two views over the subject. One is that this is discrimination against honest taxpayers and the second is that untaxed income should be brought into the tax net even it requires giving some relief,” he added.

However, Finance Secretary Dr Waqar Masood stated that the government did not have any plan to introduce any fresh tax amnesty scheme to whiten black money.

“The recent one brought for traders has been extended up to June 30, 2016, but the results are all in front of you,” he said, adding that “the government has decided that the concept of filer and non-filer would continue where non-filers would have to bear the cost for remaining outside the tax net”.

The committee discussed several clauses of the Finance Bill 2016-17, and it was agreed to recommend a reduction in GST on bottled packaged water at retail price from 17 to 12 per cent and abolition of all import duties on PCs, laptops and other items.

The Senate committee supported the idea of imposing additional two per cent tax on supply chains of sugar industry after replacing it with 8 per cent FED and bringing under reduced GST rate of 8 per cent.

It was recommended to abolish duties on import of dumper trucks for Thar coal project for five years.

Meanwhile, the National Highway Authority chairman told the committee that Loari Tunnel would become operational by March 2018.