ISLAMABAD, March 7: The National Assembly was informed here on Friday through a written reply that Pakistan did not get relief from any international monetary agency after 9/11 though it received direct compensation of $891 million from five countries for being a front-line state in the Afghan operation.
Farid Ahmad Paracha, a Jamaat-i-Islami parliamentarian had asked about the total amount of loans written off and re-scheduled after September 11, 2001.
Out of $891.3 million, the US provided the largest amount of $600 million. Pakistan also received $28.8 million from the UK, $27.46 million from the European Union, $85.07 million from Japan and $150 million from Saudi Arabia.
The prime minister’s adviser on economic affairs, Shaukat Aziz, in a written reply said that under the Paris Club Agreed Minute of December 13, 2001, loans amounting to $12.5 billion had been rescheduled and an amount of $62.2 million relating to debt from Denmark, the Netherlands and the Commonwealth Development Corporation (CDC) of UK had been written off so far.
Replying to a question from Asif Tauseef, the adviser said that the government was not considering any proposal to introduce a fixed tax system to replace the present system of taxation of incomes of different categories of tax payers.
He explained that income tax envisaged taxation of income on the principle of equity, justice and progression. The tax liability of a person was determined on the basis of the income he earned after allowing admissible deductions as per law.
The fixed tax system was regressive in nature as it did not differentiate between the earning capacity of different tax-payers. Further, under this system the tax-payer, knowing his liability in advance, may shift the tax burden to the consumers.
The experiment of fixed tax scheme launched in 1991 had to be discontinued in 1996 because of poor result, Mr Aziz’s reply said.
In addition to this, the government of Pakistan was also committed to international donors to ensure that no fixed tax schemes would be introduced in the present income tax regime.
However as a facility to the taxpayers, the government had now launched a universal self-assessment scheme (USAS) for the years 2002-03 onwards, whereby all taxpayers, including those declaring losses, would be entitled to avail of its benefits, he said.