Senate body rejects tax amnesty scheme
On April 23, National Assemblys Standing Committee on Finance had also rejected the Scheme
ISLAMABAD (Dunya News) – Senate Standing Committee on Finance on Friday rejected the tax amnesty scheme unveiled by Prime Minister Shahif Khaqan Abbasi last month in a bid to bring tax evaders into tax-net.
A meeting of the Senate Standing Committee on Finance held with its head Farooq H Naik in chair reviewed different aspects of the scheme.
Speaking on the occasion, committee members said that the federation has no authority receive tax on properties, adding that the government should first table the scheme in Council of Common Interest (CCI) for approval.
The committee further said that the government also has no authority to slash DC rates and impose market rates as this move cannot determine the market rates.
On April 23, National Assembly’s Standing Committee on Finance had also rejected the Amnesty Scheme.
The meeting of the Standing Committee on Finance was held in Islamabad with Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz’s Qaiser Ahmad Sheikh in chair while among others it was attended by Muttahida Qaumi Movement’s (MQM) Rasheed Godil, Pakistan Peoples’ Party’s (PPP) Nafeesa Shah, Mahmood Mustafa and Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf’s (PTI) Asad Umer.
The committee members had strongly criticized the scheme announced by the prime minister.
The Committee members said that the government has no authority to bring the amnesty scheme just days before the end of their tenure.
They said that those who bear the election expenses were being rewarded through the scheme.
Minister of State for Finance Rana Muhammad Afzal Khan rejected the allegations and said that the amnesty scheme would not benefit any politician.
