65,000 people declare assets, FBR collects Rs110b in taxes

As many as 65,000 people had declared their assets by Monday, with the FBR’s tax collection against the assets amounting to Rs110 billion.

The last date for declaring hidden assets under the tax amnesty scheme is July 31 (today).

People who have so far declared their domestic assets numbered 59,000 while 6,000 people have declared their offshore assets. As a result, the total tax collection under the amnesty scheme amounted to Rs110 billion.

The Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) had aimed at collecting Rs123 billion in taxes against the assets people would declare under the scheme.

The PML-N-led government announced the tax amnesty scheme earlier this year. It came into effect on April 10, 2018. The scheme provided an opportunity for people to file their local and foreign assets without facing any legal consequences. The PTI, on the other hand, has been against such tax amnesty schemes and has been opposing it since the previous government launched it.

The FBR does not have the power to extend the scheme. The next government is likely to have PTI chief Imran Khan as prime minister, who termed the scheme “a slap on the face of honest taxpayers”.