President Mamnoon justifies tax amnesty scheme

Rejects impression that all wealth stashed abroad by Pakistani nationals was achieved through ill-gotten means

ISLAMABAD: President Mamnoon Hussain said the tax amnesty scheme offered recently would help prevent money-laundering, while also aiding the government in bringing back wealth to the country.

Talking to media persons during his visit to the Directorate General of Immigration and Passports (DGIP), Hussain, who promulgated four ordinances to give effect to the tax amnesty scheme for whitening of local and offshore hidden assets, said similar schemes have been successful in Malaysia and Indonesia.

He rejected the impression that all wealth stashed abroad by Pakistani nationals was achieved through ill-gotten means. “Most assets are a result of hard-earned money of Pakistanis, and it was not correct to target them across the board,” he added, justifying the incentives given to declare foreign assets and pay nominal tax on them.

He mentioned that the country was headed towards prosperity as projects under the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) gather pace, adding that it requires a joint effort of all stakeholders.

The president also said he was confident that elections would be held on time.