Govt mulling bringing valuable gifts into tax net

ISLAMABAD: The government is considering a proposal to bring valuable gifts into tax net with proposed rate of 10 to 12 percent as exemption on this account has been largely misused to hide tax liabilities.

The Implementation Committee on Tax Reforms Commission (TRC) on Wednesday thoroughly deliberated upon proposed tax amnesty scheme for offshore and onshore assets as well as bringing gifts into tax net. It was proposed to abolish exemption on gifts and asked the government to find out ways and means to bring them into tax net with rate of 10 to 12 percent.

The issue has come under discussions especially from abroad as it is being misused to hide tax liabilities in Pakistan. However, tax officials believe that it will be hard for the government to evolve consensus on any scheme at this political juncture. The government is considering to move ahead but gifts received from close relatives such as from parents, brothers, sisters and husbands will be excluded from the tax net.