ISLAMABAD: After Federal Minister for Finance Ishaq Dar took a ‘principled stand’, Pakistani and Swiss authorities are scheduled to ink a revised convention on avoidance of double taxation agreement today (Tuesday) here in the federal capital, enabling the Pakistani authorities to get information about dirty untaxed money of $200 billion… – Continue reading
Finance Minister Ishaq Dar on Wednesday told the National Assembly that Pakistan will sign an agreement with Switzerland on exchange of information regarding bank accounts on March 21. “The Swiss government offered to sign such an agreement with Pakistan in the third quarter of the current month that will enable… – Continue reading
KARACHI: Directorate Intelligence and Investigation, (DI&I) Inland Revenue Karachi has detected around 453 fake registered persons, who were reportedly involved in Rs 5.6 billion tax evasion. According to sources, the DI&I-IR, Karachi under the supervision of its Director Hyder Ali Dharejo has kicked off a crackdown against tax mafia, who… – Continue reading
ISLAMABAD-Pakistan and Hong Kong on Friday signed the pact on avoidance of double taxation and prevention of fiscal evasion with respect to taxes on income. Pakistan’s Ambassador to China Masood Khalid signed the agreement while the Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury, Professor KC Chan signed on behalf of… – Continue reading
ISLAMABAD – The Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP) has proposed the government to give one time amnesty scheme for the owners of offshore companies to declare their hidden assets by paying nominal tax. “I have asked the Finance Minister Ishaq Dar to give one opportunity to offshore companies… – Continue reading
KARACHI: Finance minister Ishaq Dar on Friday said that tax evaders will find no place to park their ill-gotten money, as Pakistan will begin automatic-exchange of information from next year. “As per international agreement with OECD (Organisation of Economic Cooperation and Development), Pakistan will start automatic exchange of information regarding… – Continue reading
This, like previous initiatives, seems nothing more than a thinly veiled revenue measure. A new amnesty scheme is being considered to allow those who hold wealth abroad to bring it back into the country without facing a penalty other than paying a nominal amount of tax on the value of… – Continue reading
According to unofficial estimates, more than $2 billion has flowed into Dubai real estate from Pakistanis every year for the past three years. Last week, account holders in a major UAE bank began receiving letters alerting them that soon they would be required to furnish information “with a view to… – Continue reading
Pakistan Business Council (PBC) has approached Finance Minister Ishaq Dar to stop the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) from recovery proceedings of Super Tax against non-resident companies on dividend income from their investments in Pakistan. Sources told Business Recorder here on Tuesday that the PBC has urged the Finance Minister… – Continue reading
ISLAMABAD – Pakistan and China signed third protocol to the avoidance of double taxation agreement that would allow a Chinese bank and a state-owned investment fund to avail income tax exemption on interest income from loans for energy projects under China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC). Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) Chairman… – Continue reading
A new report says little has changed after a number of global tax scandals… Ireland is entering unfair tax deals with developing countries according to a new report on ‘sweetheart deals’ in the EU. Of the 18 countries in the study, Ireland is found to have on average “introduced the… – Continue reading
ISLAMABAD: The government has stepped up to check corruption and regulate offshore investments in a bid to promote transparency and good governance, finance minister said on Tuesday. “New measures, such as the companies’ global register of beneficial ownership, will curb corruption, help (government) address challenges related to offshore investments and… – Continue reading
ISLAMABAD: The Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) is making preparation for registration of FIRs against those selected individuals who owned offshore companies and were named in Panama/Bahamas Leaks but failed to comply against the sent-out tax notices within the stipulated timeframe. The FBR found 114 cases whereby individuals were non-compliant… – Continue reading
Historically, the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region has been perceived as a region where taxation and transfer pricing initiatives are not high up on government agendas. Although this has been the case for a significant period of time, recent changes in the region such as decreases in global… – Continue reading
After getting approval from Finance Minister Ishaq Dar on the pilot project of automatic exchange of information (AEOI), the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) has approved a team to execute the project with the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development OECD Member countries. According to a notification issued by the… – Continue reading
The Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) on Wednesday refused to share tax details of offshore companies owned by Mariam Nawaz, Hassan Nawaz, Imran Khan and Jehangir Khan Tarin with National Assembly Standing Committee on Finance. The National Assembly Standing Committee on Finance, which met under the chairmanship of Qaiser Ahmed… – Continue reading
Pakistan’s authorities are making efforts to seek information about tax details of 270 offshore companies from nine known tax havens around the globe where 444 individuals have invested billions of dollars, and, finally, their names appeared through PanamaLeaks, The News has learnt. The cases of 444 individuals involving nine jurisdictions… – Continue reading
Governments of Pakistan and Mauritius on Friday signed a number of trade deals which included the Preferential Trade Agreement (PTA) – an agreement on avoidance of double taxation – which have a great potential for enhancing their bilateral trade. These agreements were signed during discussions held at the Mauritius Board… – Continue reading
Foreigners will come under a coordinated databank just after arrival so they could be traced until checkout and tax evasion by any of them prevented, officials said. They said a databank having networking with relevant nodal points would be developed under the National Board of Revenue (NBR). The NBR recently… – Continue reading
A report by the Independent Commission for Aid Impact (ICAI) has criticised the Department for International Development’s (DfiD) approach to tackling tax avoidance and its alleged failure to achieve value for money on HMRC collaboration DfiD has failed in its efforts to fully include developing countries so that they benefit… – Continue reading
The Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) will now be able to obtain the data of offshore bank accounts of Pakistani nationals for the last 15 years under the international tax treaty that it signed with the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), officials said on Saturday. “The signatories of… – Continue reading
Whether they indulged in legal tax avoidance or evaded taxes under the counter, leaked documents of a Panamanian firm revealed quite a lot in April about a number of Pakistani politicians and businessmen. Tax evasion has of late become synonymous with Pakistan because of its failure to overcome its taxation… – Continue reading
Pakistan and Switzerland would exchange information on tax evasion once the contracting state exhausts all regular sources of information available under the internal taxation procedure. On August 31, 2016, the Federal Cabinet approved initialed draft for revision of the Convention between Pakistan and Swiss Confederation for the avoidance of double… – Continue reading
Pakistan will sign Multilateral Convention on Mutual Administrative Assistance in Tax Matters with OECD on September 14 as the Federal Cabinet formally approved this on Wednesday. Minister for Finance Senator Muhammad Ishaq Dar termed the decision a historic one while briefing a crowded press conference regarding decisions of Federal Cabinet… – Continue reading
The Pakistani tax laws don’t allow the authorities to proceed against most, if not all, of those named in the Panama Papers, the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) sources claim. They said the limitation clauses of the income tax laws bar the tax man from going beyond the last five… – Continue reading
PESHAWAR: The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government is likely to issue show cause notices to owners of about 20 industrial units for not paying infrastructure development cess, according to sources. They said that provincial government had levied one per cent infrastructure development cess on imported items. “Now majority of the businessmen have… – Continue reading
ISLAMABAD: In a major development, Pakistan has been formally offered to sign and ratify a 98-countries’ convention — “Multilateral Convention on Mutual Administrative Assistance in Tax Matters” — to check tax evasion and tax avoidance by any of its nationals living in any of the member countries. Signing the convention… – Continue reading
In order to encourage foreign investment in Pakistan, the federal government has decided to provide facilities like Panama and Virgin Islands to foreign investors in Pakistan. According to documents available with Daily Times that government is going to introduce the companies’ bill 2016 in parliament soon according to which incumbent… – Continue reading
Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) and Auditor General for Pakistan Revenues (AGPR) have joined hands to check tax evasions of billions of rupees by monitoring sale and purchase activities of government vendors. “The FBR in collaboration with AGPR has put a mechanism in place to monitor and access complete data… – Continue reading
A parliamentary committee on Wednesday recommended to the government to abolish double taxation in Federally Administered Tribal Areas (Fata) and additional taxes being collected on edible items upon entry into the tribal areas. The Senate Standing Committee on States and Frontier Regions (SAFRON), chaired by Senator Hilal-ur-Rehman, Wednesday took strong… – Continue reading
The FBR has proposed powers through Finance Bill 2016-17 for entering into treaty with bilateral or multilateral forums for exchange of information to ensure prevention of tax evasions in the aftermath of Panama Leaks disclosure that many Pakistani influential owned offshore companies abroad. In totality, the FBR took tax measures… – Continue reading
Islamabad—The Benami Transactions (Prohibition) Bill, 2016 will enable the government to tackle with the problem of tax evasion and black money and transactions being carried out in other people’s names. The said bill will also to put an end to benami transactions, and to empower the government to recover such… – Continue reading
As world leaders consider what to do about the revelations emerging from the Panama Papers, Liberia’s government will be worrying about the fall-out that may cross the Atlantic Ocean from the affair. The European Union has announced it will be creating a new “tax haven blacklist”, to be released by… – Continue reading
The government should immediately withdraw key tax avoidance provisions from the income tax law and investigate sources of foreign remittances under section 111(4) of the Income Tax Ordinance 2001 and other blanket amnesty/immunity clauses in the tax laws through Statutory Regulatory Orders (SROs). A tax lawyer Waheed Shahzad Butt told… – Continue reading
Pakistan and Afghanistan on Wednesday completed first round of talks on the convention of avoidance of double taxation and prevention of fiscal evasion and mutually agreed on the initial draft of the convention. Sources told the Business Recorder on Wednesday that the negotiations between Afghan and Pakistani tax authorities were… – Continue reading
The proposed Article 26 (exchange of information) of the convention on Avoidance of Double Taxation, being renegotiated between Pakistan and Switzerland, would bound the Swiss tax authorities to exchange all requested information, including confidential bank account information of Pakistanis maintaining Swiss accounts. Sources told Business Recorder here on Tuesday that… – Continue reading
The Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) has notified a new convention inked between Pakistan and the Czech Republic for the Avoidance of Double Taxation and the Prevention of Fiscal Evasion with respect to taxes on income of citizens of both countries. Sources said that the FBR has issued an S.R.O.1322(I)/2015… – Continue reading
The Tax Reform Commission (TRC) has strongly recommended that the Global Positioning System (GPS) mapping of shops in major cities of Pakistan may be carried out and implemented on an urgent basis. Role of the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) field officers should be minimised in the process of issuance… – Continue reading
A protocol on changes to the Uzbekistan-Pakistan agreement on double taxation avoidance and prevention of income tax evasion has been approved upon the Uzbek President Islam Karimov’s decree. The presidential decree was disseminated by the Uzbek media Feb. 15. Under the decree, the country’s foreign ministry was tasked to send… – Continue reading
ABU DHABI // Pakistani expatriates have been reassured that new taxation laws will not apply to them. Anti-corruption campaign group Transparency International (TI) said Pakistanis residing in the UAE need not worry about double taxation laws. Syed Gilani, former chairman of TI, said that Pakistani laws state that anyone working… – Continue reading
ISLAMABAD: Businessmen and tax experts have criticised the government for its failure to draft framework for jurisdictions of federal and provincial tax authorities. The government has not yet drafted a framework that clearly outlines the federal and provincial tax authorities’ jurisdictions in taxing the services sector. The absence of framework… – Continue reading
ISLAMABAD: The economic experts here in a seminar stressed that trade bodies across the country should play their role for improving tax compliance and minimizing informal economy. They urged that educating taxpayers including Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) on tax compliance was key to promote tax culture and improve tax… – Continue reading
The revived Asia Tax Awards will feature categories for companies, firms and individuals. The Asia Tax Awards are back! More than five years after they last took place in November 2010, the Asia Tax Awards will be held once again on Thursday May 5 2016, following the Asia Tax Forum,… – Continue reading
LAHORE: Directorate of Intelligence Inland Revenue (I&IR), Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) in a raid recovered, impounded and retained record of a known educational institution in an income tax evasion case. The income tax evasion by the educational institution, which has around 100 branches of schools, colleges and different entrance… – Continue reading
KARACHI: The Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) has issued a detailed clarification, which clearly defines that the federal government is authorised to levy sales tax on supply and manufacturing of goods, whereas the power to levy sales tax on services have been vested with provinces. The clarification was made in… – Continue reading
In response to contentions expressed over double taxation by a KCCI delegation during its recent meeting with Chairman FBR, the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) has issued a detailed clarification which clearly defines that the federal government is authorised to levy sales tax on supply and manufacturing of goods whereas… – Continue reading
Three leading cellular operators have made a joint representation to the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) that the scheme of taxation contemplated by the Ninth Schedule of the Sales Tax Act 1990 in relation to both items – SIM cards and handsets – is legally impermissible and unconstitutional and practically… – Continue reading
LAHORE: Nearly 40% of Pakistan’s companies that provided IT services have moved their business to the United Arab Emirates, largely due to the 8% additional tax on revenues levied by the government in 2015-16, said Sajjad Syed, chief executive officer of Excellence Delivered (ExD) Private Limited . ExD outsources non-core… – Continue reading
KARACHI: Recently, under the context of the Article IV consultation, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) released a report on Pakistan’s overall economy. The report started on a positive note highlighting the macroeconomic gains made over the past couple of years which included the increase in growth rate from 3.7% in… – Continue reading
Pakistan can double its tax revenues by concerted efforts to broaden tax bases, strengthening tax compliance, eliminating distortionary tax expenditures, and rationalizing the tax system in an efficient and equitable manner, says a latest study of the International Monetary Fund (IMF). The study, Unlocking Pakistan’s Tax Revenue Potential notes, Pakistan’s… – Continue reading
