KARACHI: Sindh Governor Mohammad Zubair said on Monday that about a year ago the government felt the need for launching tax amnesty scheme amid pressure on foreign exchange reserves and worsening situation of current account deficit.

The governor hoped that the scheme will help in getting billions of dollars badly needed for dealing with the twin issues of huge current account deficit and depleting foreign exchange reserves.

Speaking at a seminar Tax Reform Package, jointly organised by Pakistan Tax Bar Association (PTBA) and Karachi Tax Bar Association (KTBA), Zubair said that unfortunately as a nation we do not have tax culture and so we do not come under tax net and wait for such scheme to be announced.

In the past people mostly avoided to pay normal tax and preferred to wait for such amnesty schemes which allow to whiten hidden wealth on payment meagre 3-5pc tax.

He further said that the world environment has also changed and it has become difficult to park or hide such undeclared assets and money anywhere particularly when Pakistan has become signatory of Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) and Common Reporting System.

The Sindh governor said that the Chief Justice of Pakistan Saqib Nisar in a statement said to review the amnesty scheme which means people will have to wait till such time the decision is made by the apex court. It would have been better if the Chief Justice had said he will look into the scheme positively, he added.Abid H Shaban, a tax expert, said that in Indonesia tax amnesty scheme was launched in 2016 but several petitions were filed against it. However, when the decision came in favour of amnesty scheme there were queues of people declaring their hidden and undeclared assets and money.

PTBA president Abdul Qadir Memon and KTBA chief Khalid Mahmood also spoke.

Published in Dawn, April 24th, 2018