ISLAMABAD: The Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) on Monday announced that no further extension will be made in the tax amnesty scheme for whitening of domestic and foreign assets.

FBR Chairperson Rukhsana Yasmin in a statement urged people to avail the scheme by July 31 as there will be no further extension in the scheme.

The government has already extended the last date of amnesty scheme from July 1 to July 31 after receiving several complaints and requests from several people who cited several reasons for not availing the scheme in the first month.

Since the general election on July 25, the pace of declarations to whiten domestic and foreign assets has gained momentum considerably.

Since July 1, FBR has received more than 3,000 declarations until recently. The amount of declared assets was also not significant. The declarants have paid more than Rs11 billion in taxes so far this month.

Nearly 55,000 people had declared their more than Rs1,770bn worth of domestic and foreign assets under the tax amnesty scheme until June 30 this year and paid around Rs108bn in taxes, with some still in the pipeline.

The amnesty scheme for foreign assets applies to both liquid and immovable assets such as bank accounts, shares, and mortgaged properties. Tax rates range from two per cent to 5pc, depending on the type of asset. Special tax rate of 2pc is applicable to liquid assets which are repatriated into Pakistan.

The amnesty scheme for domestic assets covers all types of assets and income, with tax rates of 2pc and 5pc. For payment of tax on foreign assets, the State Bank of Pakistan has devised a procedure whereby tax in US dollars is deposited into SBP’s account via wire transfer.

Published in Dawn, July 31st, 2018