KARACHI: The tax consultants and practitioners have hailed the recently announced tax amnesty scheme and believe it will receive an “overwhelming response from home and abroad".

“We believe people are waiting for the announcement of the budget 2018-19 on April 27, because a large number of queries are already pouring in from within and outside the country,” stated Karachi Tax Bar Association (KTBA) President Khalid Mahmood on Wednesday.

The government announced on April 5 a populist Economic Reforms Package (ERP) envisaging another amnesty scheme to whiten undeclared assets at home and abroad.

Talking to media the KTBA president, who was flanked by by vice-president Zeeshan Merchant and general secretary Zafar Ahmed, said that the implementation of the amnesty scheme for undeclared local and foreign assets through Presidential Ordinance will be available during April 10 to June 30.

Feedback from taxpayers suggests that there is a great deal of interest in the scheme, but people will wait till the announcement of the budget, the president KTBA said.

All the speakers at the event organised for the press were unanimous in their views that the amnesty scheme is the simplest when compared to past ones.

Pakistan became signatory to conventions of Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) and Common Reporting System following which hiding undeclared money and assets anywhere in the world will become increasingly risky and difficult, he emphasised.

Talking about the tax reform package announced along with amnesty scheme, the KTBA vice-president said that there was anomaly in tax slabs for business individuals.

The tax consultant further said that salary class people would take most of the benefits with revision of slabs effective from July 1. The amendment related to Protection of Economic Reform Act, 1992 was the key change that was a long-standing demand of the bar and trade bodies.

The KTBA office-bearers said that local cash transfers to foreign currency accounts had been linked with Active Taxpayers List (ATL). However, foreign inflows to foreign currency accounts would be the same as in the past.

The tax practitioners pointed out that the government has adopted a ‘carrot and stick’ policy along with announcement of the amnesty scheme. He said that under the new law discovery of foreign assets in any past years would be subjected to examination by the Federal Board of Revenue.

They further said for local assets the time limitation of past six years had been maintained.

Published in Dawn, April 19th, 2018