Dr. Yasmin Raashid, advisor to PTI Chairman said instead of going after tax thieves PML-N government is again all set to announce tax amnesty scheme. This tax amnesty scheme will allow taxpayers to legalize their black money by paying a nominal 1% tax she added. She said unfortunately Pakistan is the only country in the world where tax thieves are rewarded, while the honest taxpaying class is penalized. PML-N government is fully facilitating the tax thieves to legalize their black money earned via corruption and illegal means she added. She said the proposed amnesty scheme was aimed at encouraging the tax evaders, as the scheme has nothing to do with the expansion of tax net. The corrupt ruling elite from time to time, come up with such phony amnesty schemes to facilitate their near and dears she added. She said to get incremental revenues the government should find a way to introduce tax reforms in the country. Without tax reforms nothing would change and PML-N government would keep falling short of revenue she added. She said government could not meet its revenue collection targets even after 40 billion mini budget so this amnesty scheme would turn out be big failure and a futile exercise.
PTI Information Secretary Andleeb Abbas said in December 2013, PML-N government announced an amnesty scheme for the elite class who neither had a valid national tax number (NTN). The outcome of that scheme was that from the past two years government was not able to meet its own tax collection targets she added. She said now again the government's economic wizards have given the same kind of solution to overcome economic woes. This amnesty scheme would encourage money laundering and adversely affect documentation by raising expectations for future amnesties from the PML-N government she added. She said this amnesty scheme has opened another loophole in the system in addition to the ones that already exist. Instead of improving administration and tax compliance, the government is showing new ways of tax evasion she added. She said why an honest taxpayer should pay tax when evaders for the past several years are enjoying different amnesties. The ruthless waste and plundering of public money by the ruling elite has forced the people to openly defy tax laws she added. She said the existing tax system of the country itself is one of the worst expressions of colonial era and the government is not ready to bring a transparent and just system of taxation. She said PML-N government is advised to pay some heed to bring tax reforms in the country instead of wasting its energies on useless tax amnesty scheme.