Remittance holes

This refers to the editorial, ‘The remittance hole’ (September 7). When individuals holding dual nationalities head state institutions, it is fair to expect loopholes in regulatory institutions so that these individuals can transfer their earnings abroad. Almost every financial regulatory institution and important organisations is headed by those who are not necessarily specialists in their relevant fields but have one thing in common – a foreign passport.
In rare cases, if an individual does not hold a foreign passport during his or her service, they abandon this country after retirement. There are laws to which Pakistan as well as every major country of the world are signatory. Through such laws our government can legally pursue any citizen who has stashed money in bank accounts abroad and file tax claims. The fact that our government does not proceed to collect taxes on the reported $200 billion deposited in Swiss accounts is because nobody wants to set such a precedent.
Ali Malik
Lahore

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This refers to the editorial, ‘The remittance hole’ (September 7). The fact is that neither the political leadership nor the bureaucracy wants to fix the system because they are directly benefiting from this hole. The present system provides an easy way to whiten black money. Why should our rulers plug loopholes and bring in legislation?
Billions of dollars have been transferred abroad through illegal channels to buy properties and assets in foreign lands. Some of the money has been brought back in the form of remittances to meet local financial obligations. Since the system equally suits politicians, bureaucrats and businessmen, no change can be expected from the present government.
Kulsoom Arif
Karachi