ISLAMABAD: Chairman Pakistan Tehrik-i-Insaaf (PTI), Imran Khan Sunday lamented that 61 per cent of members of parliament do not pay their taxes, saying tax is collected from the poor to facilitate the rich.

Flanked by party's Policy and Planning Cell head, Jahangir Khan Tareen and Asad Umer while addressing the post-budget press conference, he said in Pakistan the poor is paying tax to facilitate the rich while in the West the rich pay tax to facilitate the poor. He said that tax evaders are part of the government and that those sitting in assemblies don't pay tax.

"Why don't the rulers declare their assets, which are kept abroad," the PTI chief said. He further questioned as to how assets were shifted abroad but no one seems ready to disclose this.

“If the leadership does not pay tax then the country cannot collect tax”, he added. In the West, he said a president, prime minister declares his tax, assets and source of income.

Without declaring these three things, he could not even become a member of parliament. He challenged that big leaders of Pakistan have never declared their assets.

The PTI chairman alleged that Pakistani rulers have launched a scheme to transform black money into white. "Under a presidential law, if investment is done in the stock market then no one will ask you where the money has come from," he added.

Imran Khan said that the powerful have to be taxed if the country is to progress. He urged the need to broaden the tax net and bring tax evaders into the tax ambit to make the country strong and stable to resolve economic problems.

The PTI chief said the PML-N and the PPP are staging a drama of fighting each other to build up their votes. He reiterated that his party would change the current system after coming into power.