All of Nawaz Sharif’s assets, except for a sugar mill, have been transferred in the name of his children, sources familiar with the matter told The Express Tribune.
Official documents obtained by The Express Tribune show that the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz president paid Rs2.5 million in taxes this year on income earned from the Chaudhry Sugar Mills. Last year he had paid Rs2 million in taxes. “He has paid all taxes for the sugar mill,” an official from the FBR said, who did not want to be named.
Last year, Nawaz was accused by Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf chief Imran Khan of only paying Rs5,000 in taxes, which sparked much criticism from the media.
“I can confirm that Nawaz Sharif does not own any other business or property anywhere in the world,” said Punjab government spokesperson Pervaiz Rashid while talking to The Express Tribune. “In Pakistan, Nawaz Sharif has one business – the Chaudhry Sugar Mills,” the PML-N senator said.
Rashid further said that Nawaz, who belongs to a prominent industrialist family, in his second tenure as prime minister (1997-1999) transferred all his assets to his children to avoid a “conflict of interest”.
The PML-N member said it was a mere propaganda against Nawaz Sharif and his younger brother Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif that they were evading taxes, adding that the family had paid Rs490 million in taxes during 2008-09, while a total of Rs6.67 billion was paid in eight years. The figures can be checked from relevant offices, he added.
Family sources added that after the death of Nawaz’s father, Mian Mohammad Sharif, in 2004, assets were directly transferred to Nawaz’s children instead of being transferred to him. The PML-N president’s apartments in London were also transferred to the children, family members added.
“If anyone can show assets beyond those declared by Nawaz Sharif and Shahbaz Sharif in their documents submitted to the FBR, any such asset, even if it’s worth billions of rupees, will be immediately transferred to Shaukat Khanum Memorial Cancer Hospital (founded by Imran Khan),” Rashid said.
In a massive rally in Lahore on Sunday, Khan had demanded that all politicians declare their assets. Rashid said that a petition has been filed before the Supreme Court regarding politicians’ assets abroad and Khan can become a party in the case if he wishes to. If there is any evidence of undeclared assets of the Sharif family at home and abroad, then he (Khan) can try to prove it. “Imran Khan should first declare his own assets and then make such demands to other people.”
Published in The Express Tribune, November 4th, 2011.
COMMENTS (87)
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Fantastic idea to transfer all your assets to your children and wife. I will also do this so that i dont have to myself pay high taxes and also keep my properties safe in case there is any legal cases brought against me. Thank you Nawaz for giving me the idea
God knows better..
@Khan, My dear with respect Imran Khan undoubtedly is serving the poor ones from all around the Pakistan and for that purpose peoples of Pakistan donates him, other wise Shoukal Khanam is one of the most expensive hospitals in Pakistan; you mentioned that Mr. Khan does not own any mill or industry my question is very simple if he really doesn’t then who can he afford to live a luxurious life; the place which he is currently using to live consists of approximately 400Kinals and according to him he build it 3-4 years back; from where he had so much money. Is he using the Zakat and Sadakas which peoples from all around the world donate him for helping the poor? Just to bring into your notice Mr. Edhi is also into humanitarian services and his domain if for more larger then Imran Khans just have a look at his lifestyle or his wealth. Mr. Edhi has donated whatever he had in his life for the welfare of human beings but Mr. Imran owns a luxurious place for himself and asks others to donate for his projects. If Nawaz transferred his ownings to his family that doesn’t mean that there will be no taxation on these firms; the owners of these mills and industries will individually be pay tax to FBR. I can’t understand those idiots who are stating about Nawaz trying to avoid TAX by transferring his industries to his family names. There is no such clause in FBR which states all such industries will be from exempted from taxation if they have been transferred from one person to another or from one reletive to another. And if there is any please do let me know.
...'technicality' my dear Watson.... I can accept when politicians lie because it has become a second nature, but i have a problem when they try to insult my intelligence.
Yeah! the rest worth billions of dollars have been transferred to his family members.. He's a clean man guys, come on.. EH!
@farooq: Before PTI supporters were saying that he is not paying enough and now you are saying he is paying too much. A history lesson for you my friend. Bhutto nationalized Ittafaq Brothers in 72/73. These guys went to Dubai where government use to spend money to collect & bury metal scrap in the desert. These guys took a contract from the UAE government for collection and disposal of scrap. They were being paid money by the government to collect old cars & other metal and take it to their furnace. Every few month a workshop in Ittafaq Brothers would close under the management of Bhutto and a new one would start in UAE. Later Zia returned it to them and thousands of workers got their jobs back in Lahore. All of them are their voters. Go and see the shear size of these factories in Shadara on G.T. Road and in Kot Lukpat in Lahore. These are all closed since Mr. Imran Khan's old buddy Mush's time and are with Banks. They did not sit on their asses since 70s after putting up these factories. As Mr Khan would have us believe about his source of income since his days of cricket. And you forgot about their business abroad. I am sure you will not find these guys are exporting drugs and laundering money through sugar mills.
They'll happily pay taxes in London but wont do it in Pakistan. @noon supporters Nawaz Sharif is the most honest person on earth and he pay his taxes, happy??
@Naumaan: They have sold their strategic assets. Remember Gaddafi said that he paid over one hundred million dollars to obtain the strategic assets. A Q Khan was made the scapegoat. Who got the money paid by Gaddafi and may be others such as Iran, Syria, etc.
@all NS supporters.
Are you all blind? he paid 2.5million income tax this year. If you gross up that amount at the lower income tax slab rate of 10% then his annual income would be 25million...Yani Dhai Corore. Do you beleive a person with annual income of dhai corore can live such a lavish life...or do u beleive that NS earns Dhai Corore a year. if you beleive so then God Help you, because that is 2 million a month and every shopkeeper on Murree Road in pindi earns more than that....
The whole family paid Rs. 490 million in taxes, right? If you gross up that amount by 35% corporate tax rate then they earned around 14 billion in that year and if grossed up at some lower rate of 20% then there income was 24 billion. some of the greates businesses in the world earn a rate of return of 20% on Capital invested in a year. So if we apply that rate of return it will give us the figure of Investment of capital by the Sharif Family...and let me share with you that it gives us the figure of staggering 122 billion. In a nut shell Sharif family has invested around "122 arab rupey" in businesses..and what is the business..."3 sugar mills and a dairy farm in lahore. Busssssssssssssssssssssssssss
Where are the assets that earned this much income....? Sen. Pervez Rashid, Do u want to say something...ok go on..!
14 points to turn things around for Pakistan
1) children of government officials should study in government schools 2) they should be treated in government hospitals 3) none of the politicians should have dual nationality 4) government officials should be given minimum wage 5) government should be given the food available to the poorest in the nation 6) massive privatization, kill all the parasites in KESC, WAPDA, PIA, Railways, FBR, etc 7) government officials should move in local cars, use all local products to promote local industries 8) ban all madarsas'. "government boards" should be the only source of Islamic education. 9) kill all those who prefer their provincial identity over their Pakistani Nationality. (for e.g. kill all those against local government system(CDGK) for karachi) 10) bring investment in buss transport, real state, industry, high end products. kill all those who have formed mafias in transport, real state, mills etc. 11) Kill each and every person linked to TTP, lashkar-eJhangvi, and other terrorists organization. 12) all minister's should be at-least masters or PHD's from reputable institutes (Like LUMS, IBA, LSE, CBM, SZABIST, Giki, AKU etc) 13) Immediately make India and Iran the closest friends of Pakistan. Remove all ANTI-INDIAN stuff from the curriculum of classes 5-intermediate. Support Iran as much as possible. Import cheap electricity from china and Iran, start trade with India. Resolve Kashmir issue asap. 14) Kill all the people who do not pay taxes. burn down their houses, burn down their cars.
This means Sharifs qualify for Benazir Income Support Scheme.
@game changer: Not 'Sharifs'. Just Nawaz Sharif who paid 2.5 million on his income from his share in it this year. Th 'Sharifs' collectively paid 490 million as taxes during 2008-09, while a total of Rs6.67 billion was paid in eight years.
@Khan: Same nonsense as you PTI guys talk of without any evidence about NS.
@Sameer: A news for you. Since NS is not a prime minister. Khan sb's old buddy Mush tried to find all those corruptions but couldn't. I thought your Khan sb had all the proofs.
@Usman: Need to be tracked? I thought you had proof.
@Khan: Khan sb I would suggest you to improve YOUR reading ability. 2 million last year paid by NS. 2.5 million this year paid by NS. 490 million in 2008-09 paid by the whole family of NS & SS.
@Muddassir: I do not know about PTI supporters as being idiots but how can one avoid tax if one transfer the assets to the children. They are Pakistani citizens and liable to taxation. Only thing is each kid may be liable to a lower % of taxation, which is totally legal. This thing is taught in Universities. Thats what tax advisers do for their clients every day.
If PML N and PPP were honest, they would have allowed the passage of accountability bill which both PPP and PML N have been blocking for 3 years. Recently the news published an article quoting NAB officials as mentioning that all parties in parliament are corrupt and this is why they are blocking the accountability bill.
@Muddassir: well said....i have met a few of them... they think the public is stupid
Here We Go, Tight Slap on the face of PTI but I guess they wont talk about this as NS already gave the Tax details to many news channels even Hassan Nawaz gave the detail of his business in UK on National TV but Imran kept repeating the word "5000 TAX DENAY WALAY"
I Guess PML N now start thinking abt their media cell just like Imran's MQM's to answer all the aligations of these liars (So called) leaders
@Pakistani: @A H Z: How many time you want Imran Khan to declare his assets???? I have seen Imran's Khan assets details shown in media so many times. Where do you live. Open your eyes.
@Ali: Interesting report, but clearly these assets are understated. I guess people are not declaring family assets, but assets held in their own names only. I suppose the bulk of the assets are held in the name of a spouse or children.
@Arsalan: Not true. Anyone can hold assets. You may buy assets for your children and if they are adults, they have their own tax liabilities. This does not amount to tax evasion.
@Ghaznavi: What about benami assets. These are assets that are held in the names of third parties including friends and relatives. Many corrupt individuals hold assets in the names of people that they trust. These are very hard to identify.
@kamran: What nonsense is this Khal of Qurbani? No one sends that to his house .. If any one is giving it to them once a year do you even know the expenditure and running cost of Shaukat Khanum Hospital? Do you know how much it costs for a single patient? Do you know how much a single injection costs along with chemotherapy needles to say its one of the region's best hospital ... I don't know about any NS hospital that is the level of its quality .. Every one knows about Shaukat Khanum because its unique, its of high standard and its free. On top of that the treatment it gives will cost a fortune for a patient. Put all hospitals of Pakistan on one side and this alone will shine like a start in the sky. How many Khals are you talking about and how much it can earn you at first place? Few lacs at most in one year? that is how much spent on a single patient of cancer. It saves many poor people every single day and has been doing so from past 15 years. Now tell me any other leader saving lives of Pakistan despite some of them ruling this country more than once. There are two people only we can be proud and thankful for them to be living in our country one is Abdul Sattar Edhi and then Imran Khan. You said every one is eating this country to their capacity .. I dont know if that is true about IK or not but then what would you prefer a thief who takes every thing from you and doesn't give you any thing in return or one who just steals a penny from you and gives you 10 Rs in return?. Let me again explicitly say this I am not a fan of his right wing policies and will not support him only because of that but if there is a choice for me between ANY one else and him then I will gladly side with him.
What about the swiss bank money, hasan nawaz 400 million assets in uk & the mayfair flats in london. Will he be able to declare that money as well.
@anwar: 50-75% Exemption to retired Govt.. servants .... 100% exemption to widow....
@anybodyagree: A very poor man indeed. Blacksmith by profession, looks after a large family and lives in shanty town called Jatty Umran on Raiwind Road.
Please do some research in last 8 years first of all Nawaz Sharif and brothers were not in the country they were sitting quietly in Saudia no interviews to TV or newspapers like they were sleeping I’m sure that was part of their contract and deal which allowed them to save their lives and run away from Pakistan. Also please do some research and check newspapers and videos of news of late 90′s and you will find loads of corruption charges and cases on Nawaz Sharif, Mr Nawaz Sharif was trying to stop supreme court from hearing his corruption cases because he told chief justice that being a PM he enjoyed immunity so please go and do some research Nawaz Sharif has a corrupt past which he can never erase , he want us to believe that he is a changed man that is a joke also we have already seen their good governance in Punjab and thats why BEST they can do , but unfortunately their best is simply not enough that is the maximum vision they have so now is the time to change.
All of Nawaz's assets from prior to his second tenure (when he claims to have transferred them to his children) need to be tracked - how much taxes were paid on those assets PRIOR to the transfer? How did those assets come into being - needs to be tracked. All the assets transferred to his family need to be tracked - how much taxes have been paid on those by his children etc since being transferred? Can't BULLS**T us anymore. To be honest - don't even care about your assets, Sharif. We just want to rid ourselves of you brothers because you are nothing but INCOMPETENT.
It is biggest joke of this century to this nation. It is hilarious to hear that Mian Nawaz Sharif has just one sugar mill. I could not stop laughing when came across this statement and I am sure same would happen to other people as well. So who own billions of dollar in foreign bank accounts, Hudabia paper mill, Ittefaq steel mill. Don’t fool people please. We are very much aware of these cherish grinning faces looting country since 80s. It is only fair that everybody who has a business, loans waived, or held a top military position including the wealth of Ayub and Zia’s families be included. What were the assets of Zia and Ayub before they become the generals and what are their family assets now? Similarly the families like Humayun Akhter, Salif Safiullah, who have always been a part of all Govts and biggest loan absconders who have never seen a day in jail be brought to justice. It is foolish to think that targeting a few political leaders again and again is going to change anything. We have put Zardari in jail for 11 long years (while the current judges on various courts) only to see him elected to become president. The case is a political gimmick and targeting the same political enemies is only going to go in circles all over again.
@anybodyagree: Lets help him he is poor and needy.
Nawaz Shareef is very honest and he should be titled Alhaaj, rest everyone is corrupt.
@Hassan Hakeem: Need to read the article again before asking others to read it ... E.T obtained the document which says he paid 2 million + 2.5 million = 4.5 million in two years ... while his party is claiming He paid 490 million in just one year ... I guess in 2008 he won a trillion Rs lottery and then lost it? Even if he pays up the taxes they were running government twice and should have widen the tax net but they don't as they don't want to pay much tax and nothing on the lands they hold. Here in UK if you earn £6000 a year you don't pay any as you are poor. Under £40,000 earner (average) pays 20% direct tax from their salary and if you earn any thing above that you pay 40% .. millionaires are paying 50% tax (and these are wage taxes not VAT). What is percentage of the tax rich are paying in Pakistan? let alone being PM twice and doing any thing good for the people. Mind you Nawaz Sharif & Shahbaz Sharif are worth 1.4$ Billion while Zardari is worth $1.8 Billion.
Sirf ek? Bechara ghareeb hai.
One home is exempt under law isn't it? Or its exempt for turncoats only?@anybodyagree:
@kamran: I am not way Imran Khan's fan in politics and especially his pro right wing gestures. But to compare him with any one in Pakistan is the stupidest thing ever one can do ... You want to know his assets? His asset is Shaukat Khanum Hospital giving free treatment to hundreds of people all over the country. People should have some shame but perhaps in our country we don't have any ... If GOD forbids any thing happens to our dear one and are in need of such treatment we won't run to any Sharifs ..or Zardaris ... We will go straight to SKM Hospital as its the only dedicated cancer hostpital. He is giving life to people what is NS giving us? You want to know Nawaz sharif's assets .. come visit London I will gladly host you at my place and will take you around to show you the empire of Nawaz Sharif in central London and his construction company here who only deal with millionaires here. Are you people so blind that you are comparing a person who owns no mills or industries with Pakistan's top three richest persons (Zardari & Nawaz Sharif)?
butDeclaring assets belonging to the extended family is so "tribal". It's a mockery of "one Man", "one vote" system@Ghaznavi:
Zardari have only few thousand acres land in nawab shah and one small mension in UK and swiss banks accounts are on the name of asifa and bilawal and same way mian saha b family too and all others Shurfah in politicts are so innocents oh god i wanna kiss them.
@anybodyagree: their Home is shared by Shahbaz. & about that
The sprawling Raiwind estate of the Sharifs, spread over hundreds of acres, will pay nearly six million rupees as tax imposed on farmhouses in the new Punjab budget announced last week, it is learnt. This will perhaps be the largest amount of farmhouse tax to be paid in the whole of Punjab where the levy has been introduced for the first time as part of making the rich to contribute to the exchequer.
http://www.thenews.com.pk/TodaysPrintDetail.aspx?ID=52465&Cat=2
What about Lohar's Flight to Industries 'Rumors' ...
I respect Imran for his achievements but to say he should lead the country is a big big task.
He was a great cricketer and lead the team to world cup but lets say Afridi leads the team to world cup (he came close last time) so should he be a candidate to lead the country?
Building shaukat khanum again is very noble and great service to humanity but Edhi has been serving humanity for decades now and at much larger scale so should we start chanting his name as next PM/president?
That is why people are requesting Imran to give a road map/policy in detail so that his policies can be examined in detail and compared against others untill then his political rhetorics will only appeal to his supporters but not the public at large.
To all Imran supporters, why is that you all start to question integrity of a person/organisation when they critisize Imrans policy/statements or praise others? PPP and PMLN have been criticised heavily as well by different journalists/anchors. Plz grow up and take criticism positively
ONLY ONE SUGAR MILL.....!!! NO HOME AT ALL .....!!!!!! very very poor man...."""
dont make voice other wise it will be called a "Ploitical Reveange"
"in his second tenure as prime minister (1997-1999) transferred all his assets to his children to avoid a “conflict of interest”."
Mr. Rashid: in tax/accounting/ and business, there is a very simple concept of "arms-length transactions" and none of these transfers could be considered non-arms length, these were mere attempts to avoid taxes by transferring assets to the minors and to other family members.
Being a supporter of IK, I really enjoy criticism on him and PTI as that's how we will improve ourselves and will avoid future mistakes, but what really bothers me is this attitude from the politicians where they think of us as total idiots who either know nothing or forget everything. In current environment where media and social forums creat alot of awareness, this attitude will defiinitely backfire at these politicians.
Enjoy
Imran Khan Assets declared on his name.Where as Nawaz Sharif hides his illegal wealth.
"Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaaf (PTI) of Mr. Imran Khan (NA-71, Mianwali-I, Punjab, PTI) emerged as the richest in 2005-2006 in terms of average value of the assets of its MNAs, which happens to be only one, i.e., Mr. Imran Khan (NA-71, Mianwali-I,Punjab, PTI) himself. This value was Rs. 58.24 million in 2002-2003, which increased to Rs.81.57 million in 2005-2006 registering a 40 % increase. The party ranked at No. 2 in 2002-2003 but moved up to the first position in 2003-2004 and 2004-2005 which it maintained in 2005-2006 as well. PML-Q MNAs with their average assets at Rs.46.35 million ranks second while PML-N at Rs.37.42 million ranks third in 2005-2006. PML-N was at 4th position in 2002-2003, climbing to the 3rd position in 2003-2004 and 2004-2005. PPPP however, plummeted to the 6th position in 2003-2004 from its 2nd position in 2002-2003.,PPPP climbed to 4th position in 2005-2006. MMA and MQM rank 7th and 10th respectively in 2005-2006"
Source :http://www.transparency.org.pk/jlc/mna/report_2007.pdf
If he is really honest about his assets can we know how much of his assets he has transferred to his family members during last 5 years. We know transferring assets to family members to avoid tracking of corruption by the authorities is an age old trick. Everybody know that method. If the assets are acquired for the family why not transfer it to them and get your shares later when get back in power or national topic changes. If the assets were transferred to family to stay in the family for easy access when needed back
Let all politicians file their wealth statement of past 10 years and wealth reconciliation declaring their source of wealth accretion. Same should be done for all senior government officials .Let these be scrutinised by Tax Bar Association
Nawaz sharif ,his father has built hospital which they ignoring to highlight. as for family is concern they can own but Nawaz is not responsible for them court cant punish killer or tax evader brother or relatives.for the crime
@Shahryar: yes
@Arsalan: Your information on taxation system is completely incorrect in that case. Transferring property to your heirs does not mean that they will be exempt from taxes, it only means that income tax will be paid individually be whoever is the sole propertier, and sales tax will be collected as usual.
Express Tribune should obtained the documents of nomination papers for bye election submitted by Nawaz Sharif. I think this tax statement was about nomination papers documents.
@Naumaan: We need to stop lying and pointing fingers on each other. This is clear that all in the power are corrupt we should stand together for our mother land with out any question asked. We don't have much time left sooner the better should be our motto. The movements start from the big cities unfortunately for Pakistan big cities are under the influence of different parties but their goal is same loot lo loot lo. Please wake up before it is too late.
Regards, Raza
@Arsalan: Your information is totally wrong. Not only is it legal it is allowed in Islam also. God help Pakistan.
@Spaniard when ET covered IK Jalsa and said that there were 100,000 people there... did you question neutral behaviour of ET at that time??... Get a life ....
@Arsalan can you explain how transferring your property and business in the name of your children helps avoiding taxes??
transferring your property to your children is totally legal in Pakistan and even if you do it then your children have to pay the taxes as it benefits them. It doesn't matter they give that profit to their father or anyone in this world.
We need to stop lying and pointing fingers on each other. This is clear that all in the power are corrupt we should stand together for our mother land with out any question asked. We don't have much time left sooner the better should be our motto. The movements start from the big cities unfortunately for Pakistan big cities are under the influence of different parties but their goal is same loot lo loot lo. Please wake up before it is too late.
Regards, Raza
@Young Boy: Whats cheep in it 'young boy'? My Dad was not a politician but any thing he made in his life was in all his kids & our mom's name (tax was paid in our name as owners). The reason is like a gas bill, if you have million you pay more tax but if you divide it among 4 family members its less. But some time parents do not trust their kid. Sorry to know that :)
What about Imran's assets in the name of his children, his wife, his father in law? How does Imran Khan live in an exclusive palace on hundreds of acres on a hill top on the outskirts of Islamabad?
@Raza: Haven't you read the article? "family had paid Rs490 million in taxes during 2008-09, while a total of Rs6.67 billion was paid in eight years".
Those who dont like that nawaz sharif paying taxes more then 5000 Rupee
-Whats the source of income of imran khan -Did he published in news paper how much he collected (khal)of qubani from public and how much revenue he generates from them - Did he declare his assets local and foreighn
How much tax he deposite to fbr@Shahryar: yes really
Waiting for Pak Army generals to disclose their assets as well. Regards, Naumaan
As far as my information of taxation laws is concerned, transferring your property and businesses in the name of your children to avoid taxes or for the pruposes of tax evasion is a serious crime..
Old formula of Politician that they declare all assets to their children,spouse etc. Cheep jokes !!!!
When will IK declare his assests?
@Naseer: Really?
Then the question should be that whether his children pay complete taxes or not? If no then he did it to fool the public... If yes then ut is not our concern
Good move, now lets see if the rest of his party members declares their assets. I am still awaiting Imran Khan to declare his assets along with PPP members.
ET how about taking feedback on this from PTI. You are continuously publishing one sided news and Imran bashing articles. The real question is HOW HE MADE such business. For sure he is going to transfer to his SON. I don't think there is any favor done by NS in doing so. And when he is going to return the money which was taken when IJI was formed. [ET: I expect you publish these comments].
I know this man very closly and know exactly how many mills this family owns. No doubt he owns one but each member of his family (including his son-in-law Capt. Safdar ) has more than two business units running. His father (Mian Shareef) was a real mind in their family who established the approach of not having many business with one person but named them with other family members to avoid tax and govt. attention.
For reader's further information, only Kulsoom Nawaz owns five mills
he has only one factory on his name but plenty of assests on his family members name.those assets actually belong to whole Nawaz family.they all benefit from it.
senator pervaiz rashid, when are you going to resign? you were supposed to resign if imran khan gathered 50,000 people. he did three times that figure. so resign now.
now its their turn, they have solid prove.... now i wonder what Khan's next step :)
Pervaiz Rashid should stop throwing challenges, specially after his famous resignation U-TURN, because it gets too hot for him to handle. Now, this transferring of assets to SKMCH seems to be another stint on which he'll take a U-TURN.
Mian Nawaz Sharif Zindabad!
Nawaz Sharif and all other politicians should declare all assets and bank balances: - In their own name - Spouse's name - Children's name - Sibling's name - Parent's name
And clearly disclose the audited results of companies including the taxes paid. All the money they have needs to be accounted for and justified as truly legitimate income and not black money with money trail. Only then it will be completely transparent.