Taxes and loans

Offshore bank accounts, like the ones mentioned in the Panama leaks, are used by people around the world to hide their wealth. Although offshore accounts are legal, since there are no international laws available to tax authorities of different countries to check such accounts, these offshore accounts are used to avoid paying local taxes. Now in a dramatic turn of events, a hacker has leaked the documentary evidence of many offshore accounts of just one bank in Panama. And for the first time, tax collecting authorities around the globe are privy to bank documents showing secret and hidden untaxed savings of many influential persons.

We, the people and taxpayers of Pakistan, have been witness to the inaction of parliament and tax authorities in the past two months. Although we cannot do much against our corrupt politicians, we can all request the World Bank, Asian Development Bank and IMF to stop loan payments to the government of Pakistan, until tax-evaders mentioned in the Panama leaks are punished and the relevant taxes and fines are recovered from them.

Engr Shahryar Khan Baseer

Peshawar