Prime Minister Imran Khan on Monday asked the tax evaders to declare their financial assets, within the country and abroad, before June 30 or be ready for indiscriminate action.
The prime minister, in a televised address to the nation, said this government had unprecedented in-depth information about the assets of the citizens, including their bank accounts, real estate and benami transactions, and thus would not spare anyone who does not declare them before June 30.
He said the government had bilateral agreements with several countries on information-sharing and also had information received from the intelligence agencies.
He mentioned that in 10 years, the country’s total debt and liabilities rose from Rs 6 trillion to Rs 30 trillion and regretted that half of the amount collected from tax – Rs 2 trillion out of Rs 4 trillion – was being spent on paying the debts of previous governments. He said Pakistanis were one of the ‘most charitable nations’ in the world, but they were also the ‘least taxpayers’. “This is a nation that has the capabilities, and with passion we can collect approximately Rs 10,000 billion annually,” he said, adding that a passion for the uplift of the country could revive the national economy currently facing challenges.
The prime minister called upon the nation to bring reformation within them, register to tax culture and take benefit from the asset declaration scheme to make the country financially stable and strong.
