While reports suggest that another 25000 people are in the pipeline to submit their tax returns and subsequent declarations. It is pertained to mention here that in the previous amnesty scheme offered by former Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi, 83000 people made declarations and Rs.124 billion was collected.
FBR sources reveal that the ongoing amnesty has seen a surge of nonfilers who have made subsequent declarations. Despite the interest, the revenue target remains below the anticipated one set by government bodies.
According to FBR officials, the number of tax return filers has increased. In 2017-18 1,733,000 people filed their tax returns and this year that has increased by 267,000 to cross the two million mark.
The ongoing scheme was launched on May 14, 2019, after consultation with the requisite government institutions including the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR), State Bank of Pakistan (SBP), etc.
The scheduled end for the scheme was June 30 however due to extensive demands by both local and overseas Pakistanis, three days were extended further to accommodate those in the process of declaration.
Many took to Twitter appreciating the incumbent government`s efforts to expand the tax net.
https://twitter.com/noor0927/status/1146516594161541122
https://twitter.com/Aadil_Jillani/status/1146374710936162305
Dawn reports another major difference from last years amnesty scheme that residents of smaller cities availed the scheme compared to Karachi, Lahore, and Islamabad previously.
During the last 10 days, about 100,000 new tax returns were added to the total numbers. As a result, the number of tax returns reached over two million, the highest ever in the country’s history. “Over 90,000 non-filers availed the scheme,” a senior tax officer told Dawn.
While many declarants used both local and foreign currency deposits to avail the scheme, which resulted in higher cash deposits for revenue authorities.