PM Imran Khan hints at extending deadline of Asset Declaration Scheme

ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Imran Khan Thursday hinted at an extension in the Asset Declaration Scheme, saying   the government would come up with a new programme within next 48 hours .The prime minister said that the people have shown willingness to come under the tax net  but they are complaining the paucity of time as the scheme is set to expire on June 30, 2019.Talking to Pakistan Television’s special transmission “Aap Ka Paisa –Aap Kay Kaam”, the prime minister said he had discussed with his Finance Advisor Abdul Hafeez Sheikh and Chairman Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) Shabbar Zaidi as how the government could facilitate  people.The premier said that the government was striving to reform the institutions and change the public mindset. He added that the taxpayers to be served as  VIPs and money launderers to face jail.Imran Khan said being a non-filer is an illegal act, adding the country can not be steered out of the debt trap unless the people pay  taxes.The prime minister assured the people that he would safeguard them from any harassment by any public institutions after they came under the tax net.The premier said along with the efforts to enhance the tax net, the government was also striving to reform the FBR to end the mistrust as well as get rid of the corrupt elements.The prime minister also assured the nation that their tax money would be spent on them.PM  said for the first time, the government had reduced its expenditures with the salaries of the cabinet ministers reduced by 10 percent, PM House expenses by Rs 300 million and freezing of the defense expenditures in this budget.Recounting the philanthropic character of Pakistani nation, he said they can even collect Rs 8,000 billion if they make a resolve.He said the  system ruins when the ruling elite evades taxes, adding that  this practice ultimately leads to the distrust among the business community and the destruction of the small business industry.The prime minister said he had taken the responsibility to reform the FBR along with Shabbar Zaidi through scrutiny and e-governance as it was the matter of country’s survival.He said the government had allocated around Rs 200 billion for its anti-poverty initiative and questioned as how the government could spend required fund for public welfare when half of the tax money went to the payment of markup on foreign loans.Asked what the tax payers would get in return from the government, he said no system could effectively work without carrot-and-stick policy.

source https://www.thenews.com.pk/latest/490518-pm-imran-khan-hints-at-extending-deadline-of-asset-declaration-scheme