Amnesty for all... By Shahryar
15 October, 2012
After many years of inspection and speculation, the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) has discovered that, out of a population of 190 million there are three million tax dodgers in their crosshairs, and has finally come up with a new scheme to capture these tax dodgers. Pakistan is the sixth most populous country in the world from which the FBR collects taxes from only 0.5 percent of the population. Now the FBR wants to offer a tax amnesty scheme to all tax dodgers for the past 65 years, threatening them with blockage of their CNICs and passports, effectively cancelling their Pakistani citizenship. This seems like a very bold move to increase the number of taxpayers. However, this is the only move the FBR has been able to come up with in the past four years. I would like to add something to help balance out the equation: a special 'lifetime tax-free' amnesty scheme should be offered to the 0.5 percent Pakistani taxpayers, who have been gracious enough to pay their taxes for the past 65 years, covering the cost of every Pakistani for 65 years. If the government is going to offer amnesty to crooks, then the FBR should also offer amnesty to the honest citizens. SHAHRYAR KHAN BASEER
Peshawar
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